Such Great Heights
by AChampagneSupernova
Summary: When Jackie Carter moves in across the street from Peter Parker, he is immediately captivated by her. However he has a secret, a secret that could seriously hurt her. Will they be able to beat the odds facing their extremely complicated relationship?
1. Chapter 1: Sparks

Exhausted and wishing he'd stayed in bed, Peter Parker made his way to the humble kitchen of his New York house.

He was sore from the events of the previous night and had a huge bruise on his back. There had been a major bank robbery downtown. A man had several people at gun point and was planning to steal a large sum. The cops had, as usual not been very effective or efficient. Peter had arrived just in time to knock one of the bank tellers out of the way from a bullet. He'd managed to catch the guy behind it but not without taking a crowbar to the back.

_Who even uses crowbars anymore? What decade are we living in. _

He was just getting his shoes on when he heard his aunt call from the other room, "Peter Parker!"

He sighed internally. He loved his Aunt May, he really did. But she worried about him constantly. He couldn't blame her of course, but it was not always convenient. She had a knack for catching Peter right before he had to leave the house. She would always question where he was going and the majority of the time he would have to lie to her which would leave him with overwhelming guilt. He kept telling himself it was to protect her but part of him felt like she deserved to know.

May Parker entered the kitchen wearing her nurse scrubs. In her mid sixties, she looked good but also tired. She'd aged quite a bit over the past few years. She had several streaks of grey in her dark hair. Upon seeing Peter about to leave, she crossed her arms over her chest expectantly and arched an eyebrow, as if she was preparing herself for his excuse.

"Aunt May I'm heading out right now," He told her, grabbing his backpack and preparing to walk out the door before she could ask him to do anything for her.

"Where are you going?" Aunt May questioned with hints of concern in her voice.

"School," He lied easily, turning towards the door to leave again.

Before he could escape he heard Aunt May clear her throat, "It's Saturday," she commented, not amused. Peter froze, cringing slightly.

_Shit_.

"Uh yeah I know," Peter began to sputter, attempting to think of an excuse "I have a... you know, a... a..."

"Project?" She offered, suspiciously.

"Yes a project!" Peter nodded, lying through his teeth, "A project that I need to do... At school... Which is where I am going right now."

She obviously wasn't buying any part of his lie, but for some reason she didn't question his any further. She probably knew that she wouldn't get anything out of Peter. Instead she asked, "Could you take this pie over to the new neighbors for me before you go? I would do it but I have a shift in a couple of minutes and I'm already running late."

"New neighbors?" Peter wondered aloud. He hadn't heard anything about new neighbors. Although recently he'd been a little preoccupied with saving New York.

Aunt May nodded, "The Johnson's moved last month, remember? A new family is moving in across the street."

Peter furrowed his eyebrows, "The Johnson's moved?"

Aunt May let out a dramatic sigh, "Yes Peter! I swear, I don't know where your mind is these days! I was talking about it with you just last week!" Peter wasn't paying attention though, he was watching the house across the street trying to think of how he hadn't noticed a new family was moving in, "Peter!" she scolded, trying to get his attention again.

"Sorry!" Peter apologized, turning back to face his aunt before reluctantly replying "Yes, I'll take the pie over."

"Thank you!" Aunt May nodded in approval, "I'll see you tonight?" He could hear the question in her voice. She'd gotten used to expecting him to come home late. Some nights she didn't wait up for him, but most nights she did.

"Yeah, of course." Peter said, although he himself was unsure.

"Alright," Aunt May said before turning to leave. Before exiting the kitchen she said softly, "Be safe Peter."

"Of course," He told her, trying to reassure her.

Peter always wondered where Aunt May thought he was. She had to be curious about why he would come back late at night with black eyes and bruises. The past few years had been so difficult for her, with his Uncle Ben's passing. Did she think he was out drinking or going to parties or getting into trouble?

Sometimes Peter wished he was as his life would be so much simpler.

Grabbing the pie, Peter began to make his way across the street to the Johnson's former house. It was a small white two story house with a small porch in the front. Very unassuming. He'd never really been a fan of the Johnson's. They'd been a middle aged couple who fought constantly. Their fights were epic and left the entire neighborhood talking for days.

When he reached the wooden front door he knocked against it and waited patiently, ready to get this over with.

"Jackie, can you get the door?" He heard a muffled voice from inside yell. Then when no one answered the voice cried out again in a more annoyed voice, "Jackie?"

He heard footsteps and a woman's voice say, "Calm down, I got it!" the door swung open revealing a girl around his age. Not just any girl though. With long shiny deep chestnut hair and eyes the exact same shade there was something both exotic and familiar about her. Her complexion was olive toned and faultlessly smooth. She had delicate hands, pink lips, thick black eyelashes and a small, elegant nose, and—though short—an athletic build. She was radiant. All Peter could do for a moment was stare. He'd not expected to see her and she looked surprised to see him too, "Oh... hello." She greeted him with some confusion, as if she was trying to place his face or remember if they'd met before.

"Hey..." He said trailing off distractedly, unable to take his eyes off of her. Her eyebrows perked up in confusion and he quickly realized that he needed to say something, "Hey!" He said again, more exuberantly, "Oh I'm sorry, uh, I'm Peter. Peter Parker. I live across the street with my Aunt May," He said gesturing to his house.

"Hello Peter Parker. Great alliterated name by the way," She told him with a half smirk, "I'm Jackie," she said extending her hand to him to shake. With the hand not holding the pie he took it and shook her hand. Their eyes locked, and for a second he forgot about everything. Realizing that they'd been holding hands for a little too long, he let out a small cough and pulled his hand away.

"I brought you a pie," he told her holding up the plate in his hand before clarifying, "Well it's not just for you. It's for you and you're family. I guess you could eat it all if you wanted though..." He was rambling again, "My Aunt May made it. I think it's apple."

A smile spread across her face, "Oh wow, thanks! This looks great," She said genuinely. Peter began to pass her the plate but as she took it from him it slipped through her fingers. He saw a look of shock cross her face before he caught it with ease seconds before it hit the ground.

_Thank you Spider-senses._

Her eyes grew wide, "Nice save!" She said sounding impressed. All Peter could do was laugh and shrug and pretend like the whole thing had been a happy mistake, because no normal human being could have possibly caught that.

"Well, I'm gonna go put this in the kitchen before I drop it again! We don't have any food yet, so this may be my dinner," she explained only half kidding. She began to head down a hallway to the kitchen leaving Peter at the door, but she turned and faced him, "Do you want to come inside? I mean the place is a mess and we haven't opened any boxes yet, but feel free to come in," she waited expectantly for his reply.

Peter considered telling her that he should be on his way but before he could stop himself he found himself saying, "Sure," and stepping inside her house, following her to the kitchen. Moving boxes were piled high everywhere he looked. There was almost no furniture unpacked.

The kitchen was painted yellow and sun poured in through a small window. He watched as Jackie placed the pie in the empty refrigerator. He pushed his hands into his pockets and rested on the kitchen island.

"So where'd you move from?" He asked curiously, wanting to make conversation.

"California," She replied leaning against a nearby counter, "I lived in San Francisco with my mom."

He nodded, "Wow, so this must be a big change."

"Yeah a little bit," She agreed, "Less fog and less good Mexican food"

"Hey, our Mexican food is pretty-" He started but her laugh interrupted him.

"If the next word you say is good or a synonym for good, you are a liar who has never tried west coast Mexican food," she told him crossing his arms over his chest, challenging him.

"Wow, defensive," he said, taking a few steps towards her, grinning, "Have you tried our pizza?"

"Yeah it's alright," She said dismissively.

"_Alright_?" He scoffed, feigning shock, "Now that is just offensive!"

"I'm sorry but it's true," She told him trying to be serious, but a smile tugged at the side of her mouth.

He shook his head, "You _obviously_ have not been going to the right pizza places or else you would not make such a brash and arrogant statement."

"_Obviously_," She agreed sarcastically laughing. There was a way she had of laughing that made him feel like the world might stop right there and then. As if that laughter was enough for everyone and everything and there was no point in anything else bothering to continue.

There was a brief and not totally uncomfortable silence, "So you're in high school?" He asked casually, changing subjects.

Jackie nodded, running her fingers through her hair, "I start at Midtown tomorrow."

"That's where I go." Peter told her, "Are you a senior?"

"Yeah!" Jackie said, a look of relief sweeping over her, "Well, at least I'll know someone on my first day."

Suddenly Peter heard footsteps and another woman entered the kitchen. She looked like an older version of Jackie, with bangs and a longer face, "Who's this?" She asked Jackie, seeming a little surprised to see Peter in her kitchen.

"Peter," Jackie announced, "he lives across the street. His Aunt made us a pie."

"That is so sweet! I'm Maggie, Jackie's sister," She introduced herself with a small wave.

"It's nice to meet you," Peter told her.

"He goes to Midtown too," Jackie told her sister.

"Oh how wonderful," "You'll have to show Jackie around."

"Yeah take me to some of those pizza places you claim are so amazing," Jackie teased.

"Oh they are," he assured her

"I'm sure," she said rolling her eyes.

He was about to combat her was another remark about the pizza places, when he heard several sirens in the distance. He wanted to stay, but he knew he couldn't, "I really should be going," he told them.

"Of course," Jackie said understandingly and as Peter turned to leave she followed him.

"Thank your aunt for the pie!" Maggie called after him.

When they reached the door he stopped for a moment wanting to get one last look at her. She smiled and opened the door for him, "It was nice to meet you Peter," Jackie said, "I'll see you on Monday."


	2. Chapter 2: Don't Panic

Monday's had never been Jackie's forte.

Everything bad that had ever happened to her seemed to happen on a Monday.

It had been a Monday when she'd gotten her first period in front of the whole school bus in seventh grade. It had been a Monday when her Grandma had died. It had been a Monday when she'd caught her first boyfriend Cameron cheating on her. It had been a Monday when she'd failed the biggest Spanish test of the year and had been forced to do summer school.

Now it was Monday, and this particular Monday was her first day at a new school. She couldn't help but feel nervous.

It didn't help that she hadn't been sleeping well lately.

It was proving difficult for her to get used to her new house. Whenever she woke up, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She'd lived in the San Francisco apartment with her mom for her entire life. Her walls had been sea foam green and there were pictures of her friends hung everywhere. There had been glow in the dark stars glowing faithfully ever since kindergarten and a map of the world with all the places her and her mother planned to travel to. Now, she stared at blank white walls.

She wondered if it was even worth it to unpack. She was starting Midtown High School in the middle of the first semester of her senior year. In a blink of the eye, her high school career would be over and she would be moving again.

She'd never felt like more of an adult in her life.

After checking the mirror to make sure she looked presentable, she grabbed her very full shoulder bag off the bed and started down the hall. The door to her sisters room was slightly ajar and it appeared that she was already awake.

Downstairs she was greeted by the smell of bacon and burnt toast and the sound of laughter.

"Good morning Jackie!" Maggie greeted her happily as she entered the kitchen, "I made you toast but it totally burned so Elliot is going to make you some bacon and eggs."

Elliot, Maggie's boyfriend of 3 years looked up from his station at the stove and gave her a small nod and smile. Elliot was somewhat of a perfect specimen. He was 6'5, blonde, slim but built and had the whitest teeth that Jackie had ever seen in her life. It was like he had walked out of a Crest Teeth Whitening ad. He was a lawyer and came from a North Carolina, so occasionally when he talked he would slip into a faint southern accent.

"I'm really not that hungry," Jackie admitted, "back home with Mom I used to just have a cup of coffee."

"Oh..." Elliot said looking down at the breakfast he was preparing. He exchanged and look with Maggie who looked helpless.

"But I guess I should probably eat something anyway, it being my first day and all," She said immediately regretting that she'd said anything. They were just trying to be nice. The least she could do after them taking her in was scarfing down some eggs and bacon for them.

"Great," Maggie nodded gratefully taking a sip of her coffee, "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Jackie shrugged, taking a seat at the island counter.

"You've got all your books and everything?" Maggie questioned.

"I think so," Jackie nodded.

Elliot placed her breakfast in front of her. It was meant more for someone his size as there were about two fistfuls of scrambled eggs and a dozen strips of bacon on the plate, "Thanks Elliot."

"No problem," He said, "if you're still hungry there's some fresh fruit in the fridge or I could make you some toast."

"I think this ought to hold me for the next couple of years," She told him, which made him smile. With Maggie living in New York and Jackie living in San Francisco, Jackie had only met Elliot a few times before coming to live with them. Elliot was quiet but also very kindhearted and from what Jackie could tell he loved Maggie a lot. I mean he must if he'd be okay with letting Maggie's teenage sister live with them for a year.

"I better be heading off then," Elliot exclaimed grabbing his brief case which lay by the door. He gave Maggie a quick peck as he headed out the door, "Have a good day both of you. Especially you Jackie."

"Thanks Elliot," Jackie repeated.

"See you later," Maggie said pulling out a fork and taking a bit of Jackie's breakfast as Elliot exited.

Jackie watched her sister for moment, appreciating the time she was getting to spend with her. Maggie was nine years older than Jackie, making her twenty-seven years old. She could see the resemblance between them. They had the same skin tone, bone structure, eyes and hair color.

She hadn't seen too much of Maggie since she'd gone away to college. Maggie had gone to NYU which had meant that she'd only really been able to visit during the Christmas or summer break. Jackie and her mom had visited New York a few times as well. Because of the age difference and distance, Maggie and Jackie had never been especially close. When Maggie had been graduating high school, Jackie had been learning division. When Maggie had been graduating college, Jackie had been in the midst of middle school. Their lives had always been so different.

Maggie had always been a good older sister though. She'd taught Jackie all about makeup and clothes and made sure that she knew everything about what television shows and music was cool. When she'd gone away to college, she would always call Jackie and talk to her for awhile and give her advice about school and friends. Now, living under one roof again, was their opportunity to grow close again.

"Are you sure she want to walk to school?" Maggie asked for the millionth time, "I swear I could call Elliot and he could drive you."

"It's less than a mile," Jackie told her, "I think I'll be okay."

"Do you know how to get there?" Maggie wondered.

"Yeah, it's a straight shot from here," Jackie nodded, "Plus there is this little thing called google maps if I get lost. Have you ever heard of it?"

Maggie shook her head, "You have _her_ sense of humor."

Without even asking, Jackie knew that Maggie was talking about their mom.

"She'd be so proud of you, you know," Maggie informed her.

For what? Jackie always wondered what people meant when they told her this. She would be proud of her for going to school? It was the law.

Recently people had been telling her that here mom would be "so proud" of her all the time, and always when she was doing the most mundane task. She would be folding the laundry and her friends from San Francisco would say she was "so brave." Or she would be taking out the garbage and one of her elderly neighbors would comment on how mature she was. She never knew how to respond either. Usually she would just thank them and try to get out of the situation as soon as possible as to avoid conversation.

"She'd be proud of you too," Jackie told Maggie sincerely.

There was a brief silence as neither of the girls really knew what to say. They hadn't necessarily avoided the topic of their mom but they were definitely not at the point where they were comfortable talking about her.

"Is it already eight," Maggie said glancing up at the clock that hung nearby and breaking the silence, "Shit I've got to go get ready." She worked as a teacher in a nearby preschool.

"I better get going too, school starts in thirty minutes." Jackie agreed, taking one last bite of eggs before standing up. She'd managed to make a fairly sizable dent in her breakfast all things considered.

"Okay, call me if you need anything," Maggie told her, "And I mean _anything_. A notebook, lunch money, a number two pencil... anything."

"See you later," Jackie said trying to sound cheerful as she grabbed her school bag and headed towards the door, "I'll text you that I've gotten there safely, and I'll text you when I'm heading home."

"You've got the key to the front door right?" Maggie questioned.

"Yes," Jackie nodded, peering outside, ready to go.

"And my work number?" Maggie asked again.

"Yes," Jackie responded.

"And Elliot-"

Jackie cut her off, "Maggie I'll be fine! I promise!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Maggie said nodding, "I hope you have a great first day."

"Bye," Jackie said laughing as she walked out the door.

It was on of those October days where it was both sunny and windy at the same time. In the light it was summer and in the shade it was winter. Jackie immediately regretted not bringing a heavier jacket with her. Autumn had always been her favorite season. The leaves colored the world, but only for a moment before they eventually and inevitably fell. However recently, everything seemed to be happening in fast motion. She found herself not really caring that Halloween was coming up. She didn't feel festive. She wasn't sure if she was just growing up or if it was moving to a different state where she hardly knew anybody or the fact that her mom was no longer there to celebrate with her.

Her walk to school was fairly uneventful. It was about six blocks and took about twenty minutes. The neighborhood was a little tough, but Jackie didn't mind too much. When she was only a few blocks away from the school, she began to see other students. Most of them walked with at least one other person. Thankfully, Jackie noticed that she didn't stand out too much. She wasn't really sure how nice people dressed so that morning she'd opted for a simple dark blue v-neck, with a white lace tank top under it paired with standard jeans and brown knee high boots. From what the other students were wearing, she appeared to fit in perfectly.

Midtown High School was fairly unimpressive and as Jackie grew closer, appeared to be just a collection of standard buildings surrounded by a green lawn. It was considerably bigger than her old school and spanned about a block. As she neared the school, she adjusted her printed shoulder bag, mentally and physically preparing herself for what lie within.

The inside was also nothing particularly special. It looked like it could be any other high school across America, with dim fluorescent lighting, dingy yellow walls, posters advertising different activities happening around the school and teenagers looking uninterested and tired. One of the problems with starting school so late in the semester was that everyone but her knew where they were going. People knocked into her, heading on their way to class as she stopped, helplessly trying to find her way around.

Her first goal was to locate the front office. It took her a while but after about ten minutes of searching and finally asking a random freshman, she found it. Unfortunately the first class bell had already rung meaning she was late. She hoped they would be lenient as it was her first day.

The office consisted of a small waiting area with padded folding chairs and a table with numerous amounts of pamphlets about tutoring and clubs to join. The walls were cluttered with various awards that the school had won and there was a shelf full of trophies for various sports and academic tournaments. The room was cut in half a long counter that served as the front desk. A small old woman wearing large glasses stood behind the counter and looked at Jackie expectantly. The name plate on her desk read Mrs. Walters.

"Can I help you?" She finally asked, blinking several times.

Jackie took a few steps towards the front desk and introduced herself, "I'm Jacqueline Carter. Today's my first day and I need a schedule."

"Oh yes!" She nodded, as if she'd known it was her all along. She beckoned Jackie over before digging through some paperwork on the counter and pulling out some colored sheets of paper, "This is your schedule. You're already late for class but you're first period is in room 111. That is down the hall and to the left of here. It's American Government with Ms. Nichols," She was speaking extremely quickly and Jackie struggled to listen to everything she was saying. She began passing Jackie the papers she held, "Here's a map of the school and some paperwork for your parents to sign."

"Oh, I live with my sister," Jackie informed Mrs. Walters.

"Is she your legal guardian?" Mrs. Walters questioned.

"Yes."

"That'll be fine then," Mrs. Walters assured her and then she smiled kindly, "I'd suggest you get to class now. I hope you have a wonderful day! Welcome to Midtown."

Jackie thanked her before exiting the front boots echoed down the silent hallway as she headed to class. She followed Mrs. Walters instructions and went down the hall and to the left and found the classroom easily. She took a deep breath before entering the classroom.

Everyone looked up as she walked in and she suppressed a blush. The teacher had obviously just stopped mid sentence and waited for her to explain herself.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I-" Jackie began to apologize before the teacher interrupted.

"Ah yes, you must be Jacqueline, welcome. Come join us, there's a free seat right over here."

She could feel everyone in the room watching her as she followed the outstretched finger of the teacher, Ms. Nichols, a slight blonde woman who looked barely out of college, to the back of the room where there was an empty chair.

She slipped into the cold desk chair, letting her bag fall off her shoulder and land on the floor beside her.

Once seated, she immediately dug through her bag to find a notebook and pencil, figuring it would give people adequate time to stare at her before moving on to something else. Sure enough, by the time she lifted her head a couple minutes later to turn her attention to the teacher, a cursory check revealed everyone else was pretty much doing the same.

The class was pretty much just a long lecture about the executive branch. Jackie furiously took notes, scribbling everything the teacher said down, hardly even bothering to look up.

Ninety minutes later, the bell finally rang and everyone suddenly pushed back their chairs, gathered their things, exiting in a herd. Jackie pulled her bag over her shoulder and followed them out to the hallway which was now bustling and busy. Luckily there was a fifteen minute break which would give her some time to find her next classroom.

She checked her schedule to see where her next class was. Apparently it was in building C. Building C? What building was she in now? She pulled at her map and tried to figure out where she was going.

As she turned the corner, her nose was still buried in her map and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and she felt herself colliding with something.

No, not something, someone.

A boy's shoulder to be exact.

The boy staggered backwards and Jackie steadied herself. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't-" She began to apologize until she suddenly recognized the person, "Peter!" She exclaimed happy to see a familiar face.

"Jackie!" He said, realization washing over him.

"I'm sorry I really wasn't looking where I was going," She commented sheepishly.

"Oh no, it's fine!" He said seeming slightly amused, "Uh... how's your first day going?"

"Fine," She shrugged, "I have no clue where I'm going though."

"I might be able to help," Peter offered with a warm smile, "Where are you heading?"

Jackie scanned her schedule, and then held it out for him to see, "Vierra, building C room 205."

"Okay, that's in the English wing. That's where I'm headed too. I could, I mean I can... I'll walk you over there," Peter told her.

"Thank you!" Jackie said graciously, her spirits lifting a little bit. It was nice to talk to someone. No one in American Government had really acknowledged her past her first walking into the room.

She followed Peter as they walked down the hall, dodging the various cliques and friend groups and they exited the building.

"So are you good at English?" Peter asked her once they were outside.

"I'm alright," Jackie told him, "why?"

"Vierra is notoriously one of the hardest English teachers in the entire school," Peter explained.

"Oh great," Jackie said sarcastically but then she commented, "I guess it is my favorite subject so hopefully it'll be okay."

"You like English?" Peter asked opening the door for her, to what she assumed was building C.

"Yeah, do you?" She wondered.

"It's okay," He shrugged, "I've always been more of a science guy."

"I wish I was more interested in science," Jackie admitted, "It seems so much more..._practical_ than English. I just hate how specific it is. I like how English has a lot of different answers."

"Do you think you'll major in English in college?" Peter questioned.

Jackie laughed, "Oh, I really have no idea. I have no idea what I want to do yet. What about you, do you know what you want to do yet?"

"A year ago I probably would have said a scientist. Now I really don't know though."

"Did something change?"

"You could say that," Peter nodded. Jackie could tell there was something that he wasn't telling her but she didn't push it.

"Are you a photographer?" Jackie asked noticing the camera that hung around Peters neck and wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah kind of," Peter said, "I take pictures for the yearbook and the newspaper."

Before she could respond she was interrupted, "Who's that Peter?" Jackie looked up to see who had just called Peter's name. An all-American looking built blonde guy, was making his way over to Peter and Jackie. At first Jackie assumed that Peter and the blonde might be friends, but she quickly realized the look on the guys face did not seem exactly friendly. It seemed more like a predator about to descend on its prey.

"Hello Flash," Peter answered without even turning around to see who it was.

"Is Peter Parker actually talking to a girl?" The blonde, who Jackie assumed was Flash, taunted, "Congrats buddy. There's a first time for everything. I think she might be a little bit out of your league though."

Peter sighed, seeming annoyed, "Can we not do this right now?" He asked Flash.

"What? Do you want to do this later? Are you sure you won't be too busy hanging out with your Aunt?" Flash asked, laughing as if he'd just said the most hilarious thing in the entire world. Jackie watched Peter tense and his hands form fists as his aunt was brought into the conversation.

"Is this loser bothering you?" Flash asked turning to Jackie, acknowledging her for the first time.

"Not as much as you are," Jackie muttered shifting uncomfortably and crossing her arms over her chest.

He didn't hear her comment, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Flash," He introduced himself, trying to be charming. Did this ever work for him? Were girls stupid enough to date him? Was she supposed to be impressed by him or something? Because she _really_ wasn't.

"Jackie," she said with a slight grimace, "I wish I could say the same."

"You're new right? Maybe I could show you around the school," He offered. Was he being serious? She really couldn't tell at this point. Of course she didn't want him to show her around the school!

Remaining calm, she shook her head, "I really don't think that'll be necessary. Peter is already taking me to my next class," she explained and began to take a step forward, but Flash blocked her path.

"I'm sorry but I really cannot allow a pretty girl like you to be seen with Parker," He told her, as if he was being helpful.

"Flash seriously cut it out!" Peter said, stepping towards Jackie protectively.

Flash ignored Peter's comment, "Don't worry," he assured her, "I'll escort you away from this freak," and with that he grabbed Jackie's wrist and began walking her away from Peter.

"Don't touch me!" Jackie said angrily pulling her arm out of his grasp and the moment she had done so Peter grabbed Flash and shoved him roughly against the lockers. She heard a few gasps from some onlookers. For such a slim guy, Peter was surprisingly strong. Flash looked surprised at Peters strength and went to hit him again, but Peter easily dodged

"Get out of here Flash. You've already embarrassed yourself enough. Let's not repeat the basketball incident again." Peter said coolly.

"Whatever," Flash said shaking his head and shooting Jackie and Peter one last glance before sauntering off.

"Wow," Jackie said in astonishment.

"Sorry about that," Peter said looking embarrassed. He started walking again, although this time a little faster.

Jackie shook her head, "It's not your fault. He's a jerk," She was still somewhat in shock, "Is he always like that?" She asked.

"Unfortunately," Peter nodded.

"So what's 'the basketball incident?'" Jackie said remembering what Peter had said to Flash.

"That's another story for another time," Peter said with a small smile as he stopped in front of a door with the numbers 205 printed on it.

"I look forward to hearing it," Jackie informed him just as the bell signaling that they had 5 minutes to get to class rang.

"Okay, this is your room, 205 with Mr. Vierra" Peter said gesturing to the door where several other students were piling in.

"Thank you Peter," Jackie said, hoping she sounded as appreciative as she felt, "For everything. Seriously, you're a life saver!" She said sincerely and then asked, "I'll catch up with you later?"

"You want to catch up with me later?" Peter mused, seeming surprised, "Uh... I mean, yeah sure," he shrugged trying to seem nonchalant.

Jackie giggled, "Alright then," and with that she turned to enter her English class, unable to wipe the smile off of her face.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright, that's all for now! Tell me what you think!

My eternal gratitude to everyone who reviewed! I really and truly appreciated it! **Rissa-channn**, **Lurker128**, and **Percyval**, this one is for you!

I'm going to try to update regularly on Sunday's (except for maybe this upcoming Sunday since I'm graduating but I'll see what I can do). Does this sound like a good deal?

Reviews are better than Ben and Jerry's Phish food ice cream (and that stuff is amazing so you know I mean business).


	3. Chapter 3: All I Want

About a week and a half into school, Jackie began to form somewhat of a routine.

She would get dressed and then head downstairs to eat the ridiculously large breakfast that Elliot insisted on cooking her every morning. She'd hoped it would be just a first day of school thing but she didn't have the heart to tell Elliot that she didn't need breakfast or could make it herself if she really wanted it. Then she would say goodbye to Maggie and walk to school. Sometimes she would see Peter and they would walk together and when she didn't walk with Peter she would bring out her headphones and listen to music. After school she would walk home by herself (she didn't know where Peter went) and would do her homework and then eat dinner with Maggie and Elliott. Occasionally she would explore a little bit on her way home to get to know the neighborhood a little bit better. She had already found a very nice coffee shop with excellent cinnamon roles and lattes.

Most of her classes were not all that challenging and her homework load was manageable. So far she was really enjoying English with Mr. Vierra who despite his reputation as a really difficult teacher was very easy to talk to and when Jackie had gone into ask him about a question during his office hours had been very helpful. Science, as usual, was her least favorite subject and the only class in which she was really struggling. She was taking chemistry and due to coming into the class halfway through the semester had no clue what was going on. She was also the only senior in the class because at Middleton, chemistry was taken sophomore year but it was a required class to graduate. Much to her relief, most of the sophomores ignored her but it did make understanding the material a little difficult.

Besides Peter, she really hadn't gotten to know very many people yet. Jackie wasn't shy but she also wasn't one to go up to a random group of strangers and start talking to them. In class she pretty much kept to herself. She didn't have any classes with Peter but when he saw her in the hall during breaks they would talk and if their classes we're in the same direction they would walk to class together.

On this particular morning it was very cloudy and pale day. The leaves crunched beneath Jackie's boots as she walked. She was running a little late and walking at a brisk pace. She was about halfway to school when she heard a voice behind her call, "Jackie?" She smiled when she saw it was Peter running to catch up with her, skateboard in hand.

She waited for him to meet her, "Hey Peter," she greeted him as he grew closer. However, upon getting a closer look at him her eyes grew wide, "Oh my god, what happened to your eye?" She wondered aloud. It was blue and black and obviously swollen.

"What?" Peter questioned acting like he had no idea what she was talking about.

"It's all bruised!" She told him, as if he didn't already know.

"Oh that," He nodded "It's really not a big deal."

"Are you sure?" She asked dubiously, raising in eyebrow. And then she lowered her voice a little bit, "Was it Flash?" Since their first encounter, whenever Flash saw Jackie in the hall, he completely avoided eye contact. She liked it better that way. But what if he had been bothering Peter again?

"No, no, no. It wasn't him. I'm just clumsy. Skateboarding accident." He shrugged and began walking ahead of her.

"Alright," She said deciding to believe him, although there was obvious suspicion in her voice. She walked a little faster to catch up with him.

"So you don't drive either?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I have my license but..." She considered telling him about her mom and their accident but decided that she was just getting to know him. She didn't want to freak him out or make him feel uncomfortable, "I don't really like driving. And I don't have a car."

"Yeah me neither." Peter agreed, "Do you walk to school everyday?"

Jackie nodded, "I do. I'm not sure what I'm going to do once it starts getting colder though."

"Ah that's right, you don't have winter in San Francisco," Peter said smiling mischievously.

"We have winter!" Jackie said indigently, but then she quickly added, "We just don't have snow."

Peter laughed, "Okay, because it's totally winter without snow."

"It is!" Jackie said scoffing.

"Not really," Peter disagreed as they reached the school campus, "Type in winter into google images. I guarantee that the all of the pictures have snow in them."

Jackie was about to reply when first bell signaling for them to go to class rang.

"What class are you heading to?" Peter questioned.

"Stupid chemistry," Jackie huffed really not wanting to go to class right now. She was enjoying her conversation with Peter a lot. Peter was witty and interesting. In the few conversations that they'd had, she always found Peter easy to talk too. He had a certain maturity to him that she had rarely found in people their age.

"You're taking chemistry?" Peter asked looking slightly amused at her.

"I know. I'm the only senior in the class which makes it ten times worse. And I'm horrible at it and have no idea what's going on," Jackie rambled, feeling the need to explain her reasoning for calling chemistry stupid.

Peter hesitated a little bit before, with fidgeting hands, he cleared his throat, "I could help you. You know… if you wanted. Be your tutor or something." Peter said seeming nervous all of a sudden.

"Really?" Jackie exclaimed happily and honestly, "That would be amazing! I could really use it!"

"Yeah no problem. I think I might have saved my notebook and labs." Peter said talking very quickly, "Do you want to come over tomorrow around seven? Or I could go over to your house. Actually we could go anywhere… And the time doesn't really matter. Neither does the place but-"

"Seven at your house sounds great," Jackie said interrupting Peter's tangent.

"Right," Peter nodded. "Perfect."

"I'll see you later then," Jackie said as she began to walk towards her chemistry class. Suddenly thinking of something she turned around and called out, "Oh and Peter?"

Peter turned around quickly with a wondering look on his face, "Yeah?"

"You should put some aloe vera on your bruise. It'll help," Jackie suggested, smiling kindly before heading off to class.

* * *

The pain in Jackie's lower back grew more and more prominent as she hunched further over the textbook she'd been studying for the past four and a half hours. She had a huge test in American Government tomorrow and although many of her fellow classmates had early signs of senioritis, and had started showing up to class late or not turning in homework on time, she was determined to keep up her good grades. After all she hadn't been accepted to college yet.

Jackie had always gotten pretty good grades but she'd always had to work incredibly hard for them. Her mother had never pressured her in school and so she'd put pressure on herself, but it just never came naturally to her.

When she finally looked up from her textbook, she realized it was night. Somewhere in the time that she'd been cramming her brain full of important facts about the United States Senate and voting requirements the sun had gone down completely. The clock beside her bed flashed nine o'clock. Immediately upon this realization her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since lunch. Deciding it best to oblige her stomach's wishes, she got up and headed downstairs.

"Hey Kiddo," Maggie greeted Jackie as she reached the foot of the stairs. Maggie was sitting on the livingroom couch, going through a lesson plan while the television played in the background.

"Hey Adulto," Jackie said back as she headed to the kitchen.

"Clever," Maggie called to her, chuckling a little bit.

Jackie rummaged through the fridge until she found a few pieces of leftover chicken from the night before and some pasta salad. She heated up the chicken and served herself some pasta salad and dished up a plate for Maggie as well. Elliot wasn't home yet and Maggie could not cook anything to save her life. Jackie headed back into the living room and took a seat next to Maggie on the couch. She quickly set her lesson plan aside and thanked Jackie gratefully before taking a bite of her chicken. Without Jackie and Elliot, Maggie would probably starve.

"Where's Elliott?" Jackie questioned, wondering why he was absent. He usually came home pretty late but this was a new record for him.

Maggie chewed and swallowed before answering, "He just called a few minutes ago. He's working late tonight. Apparently they've got a huge case right now. He'll be home later though."

"What are you watching?" Jackie asked, motioning to the television which had just come back from commercial break.

"Local news," Maggie explained and then added, "I think there's a segment about Spider-Man coming up. Someone tried to rob a convenience store or something."

"Spider-Man?" Jackie wondered aloud.

Maggie muted the television, "You know who Spider-Man is don't you?" she asked her eyes widening in disbelief.

Of course Jackie had heard of Spider-Man. Everyone had heard of Spider-Man. He'd had some viral videos months ago and occasionally was in the newspaper or had a short segment on the news. She'd forgotten that he was from New York. What a bizarre concept that there was a real person, living in the same city as her, that fought crime anonymously and had extraordinary abilities.

"Yeah I've heard of him," Jackie said, shooting Maggie a look as if to say _obviously_, "Why's he on the news?"

"He's on local news all the time here! It seems like every night he's stopped another thief or mugger or something." Maggie proclaimed taking another bite of her food.

"Really?" Jackie said not hiding her surprise. Back in San Francisco, Spider-Man made the news every few months, whenever something really big happened. Jackie knew he was pretty popular on social media too but she didn't have anything beyond a Facebook which since her moms death she hardly used anymore. She twirled her fork in her hand, suddenly feeling very curious in the masked man.

"He's kind of a controversial figure in New York," commented Maggie, "Crimes gone down a lot though since he started fighting crime or whatever. I don't really understand how he does it though. I mean swinging through the air like that and climbing up buildings. It just doesn't really make sense does it?"

"No, it doesn't." Jackie agreed, watching the TV intently as the red and blue masked figure flew through the streets of New York. "And they have no clue who this guy is?"

"Nope," Maggie shook her head,_ "The Daily Bugle_ is always reporting on it though. They hate him but they have no idea who he is. For all we know it could be multiple people or a group or something."

"Huh," Jackie said deep in thought. If only there had been someone like Spider-Man there to help her mother a few months ago. Everything would be different. Maggie seemed to sense that something was troubling Jacking and as the segment on the news ended, Maggie switched the television off and turned to face her.

"Anyway though," Maggie said changing the subject, "How's school? Have you made any friends? How's the homework? What's the gossip?"

Jackie laughed at her sisters excitement. "School's fine," she assured Maggie, "I don't really know if I've made any new friends yet…" Maggie's face fell a little bit and she thought about how she sat alone at lunch and did her homework at a quiet table. Then she remembered her conversation with Peter earlier that day, and quickly added, "I'm going over to that guy Peter's house tomorrow though," when Maggie didn't recognize the name she clarified saying, "The guy who brought the pie."

"Oh the pie guy!" Maggie nodded understandingly, "He seems nice!"

"Yeah he is," Jackie agreed. "He's going to help me with my chemistry homework."

"Ugh, chemistry," Maggie said shuddering. Although their mother had been a nurse, both of the Carter girls were not fond of science and math.

"My thoughts exactly," Jackie concurred, standing up, remembering her government test studying. "Alright, I better keep studying. I've got a huge test tomorrow."

"Alright, make sure to get to bed early though," Maggie warned in a very mothering way, "And get a big breakfast tomorrow."

"Do you think Elliot's breakfast feast will suffice?" Jackie asked rhetorically.

Maggie just laughed as Jackie trudged upstairs for another few hours of studying.

* * *

Peter tapped his foot anxiously as he ate his lasagna. It was six forty-five meaning that in fifteen minutes Jackie would be coming over for their first tutoring session. Aunt May watched him careful but had found that recently, not asking was easier than trying to force Peter to tell her what was going on.

"It's so nice to have you home for dinner," Aunt May told him smiling genuinely before taking a bite of her own lasagna.

"You know me. Always busy… studying at the library" Peter said with a shrug. He hated lying to May about where he was always jetting off too but Spider-Man wore a mask for a reason. He knew that she didn't really believe he was at the library but it was safer for her not to know about his secret identity. She would worry even more about him than she already did. Although thus far, nothing compared to his nightmarish experience with Dr. Conners, he'd had a few close calls. Last night had been somewhat eventful with a Seven Eleven robbery and he hadn't returned home until around three in the morning. Aunt May had been asleep on the couch when he'd gotten home. She had tried to wait up for him as usual.

Checking the clock again, he realized that he hadn't told Aunt May why he was home right now. He figured he should probably mention it to her, as it was her house and so cleared his throat and trying to sound as casual as possible said, "Oh by the way, Jackie is stopping by in a few minutes," Peter didn't have people over very often so Aunt May was clearly surprised by the news.

"Who?" May asked looking up from her plate with wide eyes.

"She's the new girl who lives across the street. She asked me to tutor her in chemistry," Peter explained.

"Oh of course! That's wonderful. I visited with her sister today," Aunt May commented.

"Oh yeah?" Peter said only half listening to what she was saying as he finished his food and brought his plate to the dishwasher.

"Yes, what a kind family," May said taking a last bite of her food, "Her sister is a preschool teacher for that little school down the street. The one that my friend Elizabeth's grand daughter goes to. They seem like a lovely family." Peter nodded and May smiled with a twinkle in her eyes, "Maggie says that Jackie's mentioned you a few times."

"Really?" Peter asked, suddenly much more interested in what his Aunt was saying. Knowing that she was done with her food, Peter took her plate and put it in the dishwasher alongside his.

Suddenly a mournful look crossed May's face and she shook her head, "It's just horrible to think about what happened to their mother. It's just not fair that such wonderful people have to go through such hard times."

"Yeah," Peter nodded, until he processed what she'd just said. Their mother? Jackie's mother? He and Jackie hadn't talked about families yet. So far it had just been surface level conversation. He didn't know about her parents and he assumed that she didn't know about his parents. "Wait what? What happened to her mom?" He asked Aunt May, giving her his full attention.

Aunt May's eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh you don't know?" She said in surprise, "Oh no, I probably shouldn't say anything."

"What happened?" Peter repeated a little bit more firmly this time. She stared directly at Aunt May, willing her to tell him the truth.

Aunt May sighed, knowing that Peter wouldn't let up, "Jackie and her mother were in a car crash this August," Peter's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Her mother passed away. Oh it sounded just awful. That's why she's living with Maggie."

Jackie hadn't mentioned anything about her mother to him. Although that wasn't necessarily surprising seeing as he'd only known her for a little over a week or so. It wasn't like he was telling her all about his parents.

"Peter you can't tell her that you know. Let her tell you when she's ready," May warned him, looking guilty.

"Right," Peter nodded, feeling slightly dazed. Suddenly there was a knock at the door signaling Jackie's arrival, "Uh. I should probably get that."

"Right," Aunt May nodded.

Peter's head was spinning. Jackie's parents were dead. She was an orphan, just like him. He didn't know too many people who's parents had died in tragic accidents like his had. He was used to being the boy whose parents had died or the boy that lived with his aunt. He didn't blame Jackie for not telling him. If he could have started over in a new place when his parents had died, he would have jumped at the opportunity.

He opened the door and there she was. Jackie smiled widely when she saw him and greeted him with a friendly, "Hey Peter." She looked so happy. It was hard to believe that she had gone through so much in the past few months. He would have never guessed by her demeanor that she had lost a parent so recently.

"Hi," Peter said and then when he realized he was blocking the door he moved aside and said, "Oh, come in."

"Thanks," Jackie said stepping inside.

Aunt May had materialized from the kitchen, obviously curious to meet the person who had lead to Peter staying home for dinner last night.

"Hello Jackie," She introduced herself warmly, "I'm Peter's Aunt May. It's lovely to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Jackie said, "I should probably thank you directly for the pie Peter brought over. It was excellent."

"Oh you're very welcome dear. Let us know if you and your sister need anything else."

"I'll make sure to," Jackie assured her, "I hope you don't mind me stealing Peter for some tutoring."

May beamed, "Oh not at all," she shook her head and then, acting like Peter wasn't there said, "Frankly I think it's wonderful that he's spending some time with someone his own age. Sometimes I think-"

"Aunt May," Peter warned, cutting her off.

Aunt May's eyes met his and she nodded in understanding and began to move towards the stairs, "Well I'll be upstairs. If you two need anything, just call me."

"Thank you!" Jackie called after her before turning back to Peter, "She seems nice," Jackie said earnestly.

"Yeah, she's great," Peter nodded in agreement as Aunt May disappeared up the stairs and around the corner to her room. He was pretty sure that she'd just heard Jackie call her nice. When she was out of earshot he turned back to Jackie, "I thought we could study in the living room maybe?"

"Sounds fine with me," Jackie said with a shrug. Peter nodded and lead her into the adjacent living room. The living room was a cozy room full of pictures and cushions. Peter had moved some of the embarrassing pictures into a separate room. He'd also dug up his old Chemistry notebook and homework and had laid it out on the coffee table along with some snacks, drinks, paper, pens and pencils.

"You thought of everything didn't you?" Jackie said, looking down at the table appreciatively, taking a seat on one of the pillows that Peter had set up on the ground and laid her bag down next to her.

Peter sat down on the pillow next to her, "It really wasn't a big deal."

"You're eye looks a bit better," Jackie informed Peter looking at the bruise around his eye, which looked less swollen. She'd leaned in a little bit to get a look at his eye. Jackie looked just as radiant up close.

"I think the aloe vera helped," Peter admitted.

"Aloe vera is my go to for healing. Bruises? Aloe vera. Mosquito bite? Aloe vera. Sun burn? Aloe vera. I'm pretty sure it's magic." Jackie told him laughing.

Peter stifled a laugh. But truthfully he was having trouble concentrating on what she was saying. He couldn't look her directly in the eye. He felt guilty for knowing such a personal thing about Jackie without her telling him. Most of all though he felt sorry for Jackie. She'd had to move across the country because her mom had died. If it weren't for an incredibly horrible accident he wouldn't know her at all. And she had been in the car with her mom during the accident. Peter had pictured his parents death many times but he couldn't imagine actually being there with them.

"Who told you?" Jackie demanded suddenly snapping Peter out of his trance. Her eyes had darkened but she was staring directly at him trying to catch his eye. Her arms crossed over her chest and Peter couldn't tell if she was trying to intimidate Peter or comfort herself.

"What?" Peter questioned innocently. He knew immediately what she was talking about though.

"Was it Maggie?" Jackie asked, standing up. She was frowning at him and tears were brimming in her eyes.

Peter shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about." Standing up, he took a step towards her but she quickly took a step back. Peter's heart sank, knowing he'd messed up.

"You know about my mom don't you? I can tell by the way you're looking at me." She said, although it wasn't really a question. She already knew the answer. When he didn't reply she asked again, this time in a softer and more bitter voice, "Don't you Peter?"

"No, no I... I mean yes I do but I didn't mean-" Peter watched as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

"I hate this," she exclaimed angrily. She was shaking. She had turned away from him; probably because she didn't want him to see her cry. "I hate everyone tip toeing around the subject and treating me like a child. She's dead. She's gone and I'm never going to see her again. If people really wanted to make me feel better they wouldn't treat me like I'm dying. I'm trying to live and I'm dealing with this and grieving and nobody seems to get what I'm going through."

There was a loud silence that lasted for many second. Jackie, who was not looking at Peter and was still turned away from him, was clearly waiting for Peter to say something. Everything that she was saying sounded so familiar. It was exactly how he'd felt after his parents death. After a few more seconds, ee cleared his throat a little bit and then quietly muttered, "My parents are dead too."

Jackie's turned to face him and he could easily see how surprised she was, "Oh Peter I'm so sorry!" Jackie cringed, a guilty expression crossing over her face, "I didn't know…" she tried to explain, but then holding back tears said, "Oh my god. I'm such an idiot." She sank into a nearby chair and looked distraught at the way she had reprimanded Peter.

Peter shrugged, trying to act like what he'd just told her wasn't a big deal, "It's okay, they left when I was really young and they died in a plane crash. I've lived with Aunt May ever since."

"Oh, I guess I thought that she lived with you and your parents or something," Jackie told him, looking at the ground.

Peter continued, deciding that as long as he was being honest he might as well tell her about Uncle Ben. Needless to say though this was not the direction that he had pictured the evening going in. It felt like forever since he'd talked about his uncle. He and Aunt May had now gotten to the point where his name could be mentioned without Aunt May bursting into tears but he could still see the pain in her eyes when she remembered how the love of her life was taken away from her. "She and my Uncle Ben have taken care of me since I was seven. My Uncle Ben died about a year ago. He was shot."

He did leave out the part where Uncle Ben had been looking for him and shot by a criminal that Peter could have stopped but in anger had chose not to. He'd suffered many sleepless nights thinking about how it was his fault that his Uncle Ben had been shot. For a while he had been dead set on revenge and finding Uncle Ben's killer and make him pay. He could have done it too. He had the abilities. It had just been a matter of finding the guy. However he had come to realize that Uncle Ben would not have wanted for Peter to use his power in such a way.

Jackie gasped, "That's awful."

"We took it pretty hard," Peter agreed.

There was another pause and Jackie's eyes finally met his. He tried to soften his expression as much as possible to show that he was not upset with her but also recognized her anger.

"Peter…" Jackie began, but something stopped her. After a moment she started again, "Peter… I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know," He told Jackie firmly. He cautiously took a step towards her and this time she didn't move away.

"How did you find out about me?" Jackie wondered aloud.

"Aunt May told me by accident. She thought I already knew."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Jackie told him, "I guess… I guess, I just hate being defined by it. I didn't really want to tell anyone. I'm not ready to talk about it really, because than it'll mean that she's really gone." She continued, talking very quickly, "I already feel guilty about impeding on Maggie and Elliot. They had to move out of their studio apartment downtown and buy the house to accommodate for me." she paused and realized that she had been rambling, "I'm sorry. I haven't really talked that much about this to… well to anyone I guess."

Peter nodded, "I get it. My parents have been dead for years and I still don't tell people if I don't have to."

"I hope you didn't feel like you had to tell me," Jackie told him quickly.

"It's okay," He assured her, "I wanted to."

There was a brief silence as their eyes met and they both knew that there was no going back from this point. From that moment on they were invested and cared.

Finally Jackie said, "I guess we should probably do some studying?" There was a little bit of tentativeness in her voice and she wiped her eyes carefully. Peter was relived to have the subject changed.

"Of course," Peter agreed and turned to a random page in his old chemistry textbook, waiting for instruction.

For the rest of the night Peter helped Jackie with her homework and when they were done they talked and Jackie stayed until ten o'clock before heading back home. The next morning, Peter was surprised, but pleased to see that Jackie had waited for him before walking to school.

* * *

**A/N: **What? I updated? How odd right?

I'm sorry that it took me four months to update. This summer was incredibly busy and to be honest I wasn't all that inspired. I felt a bit silly though after promising to update every Sunday. I think that I'm just writing this story for fun and I'll update as soon as I can. I've planned out the story a bit more so I expect there will be an update a bit sooner than four months. I'm still not sure who I want the villain to be though so if you have any suggestions leave them below!

I was surprised that during my four month absence, I got a lot of very kind reviews and a lot of follows which were incredible and the reason why I wrote this chapter. So thank you so so so so so much to everyone that commented or followed the story because that is so cool of you.

I hope you like this chapter and if you did/do some feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4: Comes and Goes

Mr. Vierra was a tall man with a deep voice. He appeared to be anywhere between the age of sixty and eighty but no one was quite sure how old he was. In fact, people knew very little about him. There were rumors that he'd been in the Marines and had fought in both the Vietnam War and Korean War and others said that he'd been at Woodstock and was a major activist in the 1960's and 70's. Jackie wasn't sure what to believe of her English teacher.

They had been talking all about _Slaughterhouse Five_ and discussing the different types of irony used in the novel. Jackie was actually raising her hand and participating in the conversation which was new for her. She always did well in English but usually she did so by keeping her head down and writing strong essays. However, at Midtown, where nobody knew her and she only had to spend a few more months, she felt comfortable sharing her opinions and ideas.

In the last minutes of class, Mr. Vierra cleared his throat, "Okay class," he said leaning against his desk, "An opportunity has come to my attention that I've been asked to let all my classes know about." There was a pause. Most of the class was only half listening and several people had already whipped out their phones and were texting away.

When his statement elicited no response from the class, Mr. Vierra continued, "The_ Daily Bugle_ is looking for interns. It will most likely be a research and errands position, and unpaid, however for those of you interested in pursuing journalism in the future, this could be an excellent opportunity."

Jackie perked up at this news. She'd never really thought of journalism as a career for herself. However, since she was currently participating in no extra curricular activities, it could be interesting. The _Daily Bugle_ was a big deal too and was one of the biggest newspapers in New York. Getting and internship there could lead to a summer job.

The bell rang and the entire class got up and left in a big group. Jackie packed her backpack slowly, waiting for everyone to leave. She'd made up her mind to talk to Mr. Vierra about the internship.

He was looking over some papers with a red pen in hand when Jackie approached him. She waited a moment and when he did not look up she coughed a little and he looked up, "Ms. Carter," Mr. Vierra said warmly, "I take it you are interested in the internship?"

"Yes," Jackie nodded, a little bit nervously.

"Wonderful," Mr. Vierra happily exclaimed beginning to rustle through a stack of paperwork on his desk, "There is an application you need to fill out and parents permission and a recommendation is required…" he handed Jackie an application and permission slip. Jackie scanned both of the sheets and nodded, she was about to leave when Mr. Vierra said, "I would be happy to write you a recommendation if you would like."

"Really?" Jackie said, not hiding her surprise. She had never really talked to Mr. Vierra one on one before. She was also a little taken aback at how friendly he was. In class, he was a little intense and didn't smile very much.

The teacher nodded, "Yes. I went to school with J. Jonah Jameson, the editor-in-chief of the _Daily Bugle_. He's a good man. Based on the work that you've turned in so far, I think that you would be a good candidate for Midtown."

"Thank you, Mr. Vierra. I really appreciate it." Jackie said sincerely.

"Of course," Mr. Vierra obliged. "If you would like to turn the application and permission slip into me tomorrow, we can get it sent out then."

"That sounds perfect," Jackie nodded, unable to contain her excitement, "Thank you again."

"No problem," Mr. Vierra told her, giving her one last smile, before turning back to his work.

Jackie was still looking over the papers and grinning when she walked out of class. English was one of her early classes unfortunately which meant Jackie had the whole day to think about the internship before she could talk to Maggie about it. She could walk home after school and wait for Maggie so she could sign the papers. Maggie would probably be happy to see her getting involved in something.

Jackie was so wound up in the prospect of the internship and was still scanning the paperwork that she didn't notice the open locker door right in front of her and ran right into it at full force, slamming it shut.

The owner of a locker was a short black girl who was in Jackie's government class, Mia. She sat two seats to the left of Jackie and was pretty quiet but when she did speak always had the right answer. Mia jumped back in surprise as the locker slammed shut, letting out a small shriek.

"Oh," Jackie exclaimed in shock as she felt her head immediately begin to throb. Other people were staring now. Her face began to flush in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry!" Mia told her sounding worried.

"It's not your fault at all Mia," Jackie assured her. She touched her hand to her forehead and massaged it gently. She wasn't bleeding or anything but there was the possibility of a bruise. People were starting to turn away realizing that nothing interesting was happening and that it was simply an accident.

Suddenly, Peter appeared at her side, "I saw what happened. Jackie, are you okay?" He was looking at her half with concern and half with amusement. She could tell that the part of him that was concerned though was genuine and trusted that if she had actually been hurt, he would have helped out.

Peter and Jackie had been hanging out a lot since their first study session. They walked to and from school together everyday. After school, Jackie would usually go to Peter's and do homework. Aunt May always had some sort of baked good made for her to bring over to Maggie. At school they had lunch together and Peter walked her to a lot of her classes. It was nice to have someone to talk to and Jackie really liked spending time with Peter. He was more mature than a lot of people their age, most likely because of everything he had gone through with his parents and Uncle Ben. He was very smart and witty and always had a clever comeback. Unlike the boys at her old school, Peter was considerate and caring. He was the type of guy that would walk old ladies across the street and give change to homeless people.

"Thanks, I'm fine," Jackie told him. She couldn't help but notice that he looked like he was about to laugh and gave him a glare which made him give out a small laugh. Ignoring him, she turned back to Mia, "Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention. I hope I didn't surprise you too much."

"It's okay," Mia said with a shrug and a smile, "my life could always use a little bit more excitement. I've got to go talk to a teacher but you're sure you're okay?" Jackie really appreciated Mia's warmness and made a mental note to say hello to her the next time they passed each other in the hall.

Jackie nodded, "I'm good, promise."

"Alright, I'll see you in gov tomorrow then," Mia told her and with one last friendly glance and a small wave, she left.

Once Mia was out of earshot, Jackie turned to Peter who asked, "You're sure you're okay?"

"Positive," Jackie told him.

"And your head doesn't hurt too much?"

"Nope," Jackie said honestly. It really didn't hurt very much, although an Advil would be nice. "It didn't leave a mark did it?" She wondered, considering popping into the girls bathroom for a quick look in the mirror.

Peter looked over at her and made a horrified face, making Jackie's eyes widen. Was she bleeding? She'd know if she was bleeding right? Maybe there was a horrible bruise. Peter than started laughing, "No you're fine. No mark."

"I hate you!" Jackie said annoyed, hitting Peter in the arm who feigned that she had hurt him. It was both Jackie and Peter's lunch period. Without having to say anything to each other, they began walking towards their lunch spot which was a study room in the library. Technically they were not aloud to eat in the library, but the librarian loved Peter and he could do pretty much anything he wanted in the library. This was a good thing because it had gotten to cold to eat outside and the cafeteria was too busy and full of people like Flash.

"What happened?" Peter questioned, "What distracted you so much?"

"Oh it was just…" Jackie then remembered the possible internship and started grinning widely and looked down at the papers that were still in her hand.

"What?" Peter asked her suspiciously.

Jackie began speaking very quickly, "Mr. Vierra told us about an internship available at the _Daily Bugle _and he said he'd write me a recommendation! I'm going to apply. Well if Maggie says it's okay. I need permission. That's why I was distracted, I was looking at all the forms. I think I could be really good at this." She forced herself to stop talking. However, Peter did not look quite as excited as she was. He wasn't looking at her and seemed to be thinking very deeply about something.

"You want to work for the _Daily Bugle_?" Peter asked blankly.

"I don't know," Jackie said, disappointed by how underwhelmed Peter seemed, "It could be cool."

Peter nodded and there was a brief moment of silent before Peter he added, "You just never said you were into journalism."

"I told you I didn't know what I wanted to do or major in," Jackie clarified. She wasn't sure why Peter was so unsure about the internship. She'd thought he'd be excited for her.

"Jameson seems like kind of a jerk," Peter commented, trying to seem nonchalant, but there was an anxiousness to his voice.

"The editor-in-chief?" Jackie wondered, "Why do you say that?"

"I don't know…" Peter trailed off, "All the stuff he writes about Spider-Man is pretty harsh."

"I guess," Jackie shrugged unsure why Spider-Man was relevant to their conversation. "I think I'm going to go for the internship though."

Peter nodded, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jackie said.

"Well I bet you'll be great," Peter finally said with a small smile, and Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure why Peter was acting so weird about the internship but it probably would not be good to have her only friend upset at her.

"Thanks Peter," Jackie told him honestly.

Peter opened the door to the library open for Jackie who slipped in. It was pretty quiet and not very full as Peter and Jackie made their way towards one of the study rooms that was separate from the rest of the library. The librarian gave Peter a quick smile and wave upon seeing them. "I'd better walk you home today. Make sure you don't run into anything else," Peter joked in a whispered tone, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Jackie shot Peter a glare, "I saw you trying not to laugh. Good job pretending to be worried about me!"

"Hey I was worried!" Peter told her honestly.

"Right," Jackie said rolling her eyes. As they reached their lunch space she pulled out her brown bag lunch from her backpack before entering.

He watched her enter the study room and mumbled to himself, "I always worry about you."

* * *

"One hazelnut latte with whip and a cinnamon roll for Jackie and one coffee for Peter," the barista called out.

Jackie and Peter were sat in Jackie's favorite new coffee shop, Lucy's Coffee on a Sunday afternoon, doing homework. Jackie let out a squeal when the barista called their name and ran to get their drinks.

"Thank you," Jackie said smiling at the barista, who nodded back.

With drinks in tow, Jackie headed over to the table where Peter sat with his calculus book in front of him. "You didn't get a cinnamon roll?" Jackie questioned him, looking very offended while handing him his coffee.

"I did not," Peter confirmed confirmed accepting his coffee.

"Why not?" Jackie demanded, "I told you how good they are!"

"I'm not hungry," Peter shrugged, flipping through his calculus book.

Jackie scoffed, "Well you're going to regret it, trust me. This place makes the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my entire life."

Peter looked up from his book and his eyes fell upon the cinnamon roll. Immediately he knew that he'd made the wrong decision in not getting one. "Can have a bite of yours?" He begged.

"Nope," Jackie informed him.

"What?" Peter asked, even though he'd heard her.

"I am going to eat this entire thing all by myself," She said taking a bite of her pastry.

"Wow that is harsh," Peter told her.

"It's a doggy-dog world Parker," Jackie told him in a very matter-of-fact way.

Peter paused a moment processing what she'd just said, before turning to face her, trying not to laugh, and asked, "Did you just say doggy-dog world?"

"Yes it's a saying," She said, "Haven't you heard it before?"

Peter nodded. "Yes I have heard the phrase before, but it's dog-_eat_ dog world, not doggy-dog," he corrected her.

Jackie shook her head in disagreement, "Why would it be dog-eat-dog? Why are dogs eating dogs?" She wondered aloud and then after a few more seconds of thinking, she added, "That doesn't make any sense."

Peter laughed out loud, "Oh and doggy-dog does? Who are you Snoop Doggy-Dogg?"

"I believe he goes by just Snoop Dogg now," Jackie informed him very seriously. However, a smile quickly broke across her face and she giggled.

"Doggy-dog," Peter said still chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jackie rolled her eyes as she broke him off a piece of her cinnamon roll and handed it over to him.

"Thanks," he told her gratefully, plopping the piece into his mouth. His eyes grew wide as the taste settled on his tongue, "Oh my god. That is incredible."

Jackie held up her drink for him to try which he eagerly sipped and his eyes grew even more wider.

Jackie laughed, "I bet you're regretting that boring coffee now aren't you?"

"A little bit," Peter admitted.

"I told you!" Jackie told him, "Now give me my drink back!"

Peter took another sip before handing the hazelnut latte back to Jackie. "Have you heard back about the internship yet?" Peter was trying to be supportive of the internship idea but he didn't like the idea of Jackie working for Jameson, Spider-Man's biggest critic. The man was constantly writing stories about him that made Spider-Man sound like the bad guy.

"No," Jackie shook her head and looked down at her hands, "I'm supposed to hear back soon though so fingers crossed."

Realizing that she didn't want to talk about the subject any further Peter changed the subject, "What homework do you have?"

"I've got some gov and English reading," Jackie told him pulling out her copy of _Slaughterhouse-Five._

"No chemistry?" Peter asked.

Jackie nodded, "No chemistry. Dr. Bard thought we deserved a chemistry free weekend."

"How nice of him," Peter said.

"A real stand up guy," Jackie agreed with a slight pause before adding, "If only I didn't hate everything about the subject he teaches."

"Chemistry isn't _that_ bad," Peter tried to defend.

"Speak for yourself Mr. AP chem, teachers pet, future Oscorp employee," Jackie told him, opening her book and scanning for where she had left off.

"Oh, I'm not going to work for Oscorp," Peter muttered under his breath.

"What?" Jackie asked, not sure she'd heard him correctly. "Why not?"

Peter, not really wanting to get into the details, shrugged, "Just seems like kind of a corrupt company. You know, the whole Dr. Connors thing…"

"That's true," Jackie agreed, "that was insane. It's crazy that something like that could happen, here in New York."

"Tell me about it," Peter nodded. It was almost funny how close Jackie was getting to Peters secret right now. He knew that she knew nothing about it though. More than anything, he wanted to tell her, just to have someone to confide in. But there was way to much at stake to go blabbing to a girl that he'd known for such a short period of time.

Jackie turned back to her book and Peter found himself watching Jackie read and completely ignoring his work. Her eyebrows furrowed as she read. Occasionally, her perfect nose would scrunch up when she read something or when she particularly liked something, her eyes would widen and she'd scribble something in the margins. She was incandescent. And it wasn't even just her appearance though as much as it was her presence. How was everyone else not completely distracted by her?

The scene seemed comically poignant as though it has been snatched from a movie - he could almost imagine the orchestral music playing in the background, implying a pivotal moment would follow; perhaps he'd fall in love, or something of that nature, and everything would change for better or worse.

He wished it could be that simple.

Instead, Peter felt something, pulling him away from the coffee shop, and away from Jackie. He then heard the sound of five NYPD cars, around ten blocks away. For most New Yorkers, this was a normal sound, but for Peter it was a signal. He knew he had to act.

"I really should get going," Peter told Jackie standing up quickly. He picked up his backpack, and slung it over his back. Jackie looked up from her book, alarmed at the sudden change in Peters voice and attitude.

"What's up?" Jackie questioned, "We've only been here twenty minutes."

"I just remembered I told Aunt May I'd pick her up from work," Peter informed her, the lie leaving his lips very naturally. Sometimes he worried about how good a liar he was and the fact that no one suspected him.

"Right," Jackie nodded, not fully convinced.

Peter was already halfway to the door. He paused a moment and turned to Jackie to say, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok," Jackie said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and nodding, trying not to look hurt.

Peter quickly turned and headed out the door. Jackie was not pleased with his sudden departure, and he felt a surge of guilt, but refused to look back and instead set off in a steady jog in the direction of the sirens as he pulled out his mask from his backpack.

* * *

**A/N:** Update? What? I guess taking four months to upload is kind of my thing. In my defense, I had just started my first year of college and am purely writing this for my own enjoyment. Hopefully this chapter was alright and worth the wait. I don't want to make any promises but I am on winter break which means that I will have more time to write. Wether or not I will utilize this time remains to be seen.

I am still not quite sure where I am going with this story. I have it planned out to a point but I still do not know who I want the villain to be so if you have an ideas please leave a review or something!

Again thank you to everyone who reviewed or favorited during my long absence! I really appreciate feedback more than anything so if you have any please leave a review :)

THANKS


	5. Chapter 5: Overjoyed

The doorbell was ringing.

Peter let out a loud groan as his eyes opened slowly. Sunlight was streaming through his windows and he felt disoriented. Rolling over he looked at the clock which read 11:08 am. He probably could have slept all day if it hadn't been for the doorbell. It was a teacher workshop day so there was no school, something which Peter had taken advantage of.

Peter had been out all night last night. A drugstore had been held up around eleven at night in Brooklyn, which he'd stopped easily. On his way home from the store he'd witnessed a possible car crash which he'd managed to stop at the very last second. Then around one a.m. the cops had tried to chase him which had led to him hiding out in a Brooklyn warehouse until it was safe to come out. Then at two thirty in the morning he had seen a teenage girl walking home alone and had decided to make sure she got home alright. The rest of the night had been fairly crime free but Peter didn't end up going home until around four in the morning. He always had trouble sleeping after big nights. However, once he finally passed out, he would sleep for hours.

Peter listened as he heard Aunt May shuffling downstairs to go get the door, wondering who was at the door.

"Hey May!" Peter heard Jackie's familiar voice, "Is Peter up yet?"

"I don't think he is yet actually," May told Jackie in an apologizing tone, "I can take a message though if you would like."

"Oh that's okay," Peter heard Jackie say, "I'll just tell him next time I see him."

Peter scrambled to get up, hoping he could catch Jackie before she left. He quickly threw on the closest pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. He looked at his appearance in the mirror. He had pretty noticeable bags under his eyes and his hair was a bit of a mess but overall he looked fine. He made his way downstairs to see Jackie still standing in the doorway. Upon seeing him Jackie let out a wide grin.

Unlike Peter, Jackie looked very awake. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet and Peter could tell something was going on.

"Oh Peter! You're awake!" May said in a surprised tone. On weekend nights she usually didn't expect him to wake up until noon, sometimes later. There was a small silence. Peter made eye contact with Aunt May, willing her to excuse herself so Peter and Jackie could talk. "Alright, I'll let you two talk then," She said smiling warmly at Jackie before shuffling back to the kitchen. She had a nursing shift in a few hours so would be going off to work and Peter would have the house to himself.

"You look tired," Jackie commented, appraising Peter's appearance.

"Wow that's so nice of you to say," Peter said sarcastically, "I try so hard."

"Really?" Jackie said playing along, smirking.

"Yes it took me hours to get this look, believe it or not" he replied.

"Wow, must be so hard," She said, pretending to be very somber about the matter.

"Oh it is," Peter agreed, "I just don't think you could ever understand."

"Of course not," Jackie grinned, "Late night last night?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded, "Stayed up late watching this documentary about spider monkeys," he lied easily.

"Spider monkeys?" Jackie questioned. Peter could tell that she didn't quite believe him. "That's random," she decided to answer with.

"Yeah," Peter said not wanting to get into the details of the spider monkey movie he hadn't watched, "So what's up?"

"Oh right!" Jackie said remembering her whole purpose for coming over to to the Parkers in the first place, "Well…" she drawled, "Guess who got the internship at _The Daily Bugle_!?" Jackie said quickly.

"I'm guessing it's you?" Peter laughed, already knowing the answer. Peter had known Jackie was capable of getting the internship but it was still a surprise seeing as _The Daily Bugle _was a major newspaper.

"Yes! I got the call this morning!" Jackie yelled happily. "J. Jonah Jameson himself called me!"

"That's amazing Jackie," Peter told her honestly. He was proud of her, but another part of him was hoping that she wouldn't start agreeing with Jameson about Spider-Man. He also didn't know how he felt about her being so close to reporting about crime. Some of the journalists at _The Daily Bugle _were reporting at crime scenes. It could be dangerous. He hated the idea of anyone he knew, including Jackie in danger. He pushed these feelings away though, knowing it was her moment and he shouldn't ruin it. Also she was just an intern, of course she wouldn't be out on the scene reporting just yet. "Really, it is amazing!" He repeated his praise before asking, "How did Maggie react?"

"She cried," Jackie said shaking her head and laughing. "She is now convinced that journalism is my calling. Seems a bit extreme to me seeing as I've never even done high school newspaper and will probably just be going on coffee runs but I guess we'll see how it goes. I start on Thursday!" She gushed, "Anyways, I've got to get back and do some homework. I've got an essay due for _Slaughterhouse-Five_ due on Monday. I'll see you later though? You can come over for dinner if you want. I think Elliot is making stir fry."

"Aunt May is working tonight, so I might take you up on that," Peter admitted.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Jackie told him turning to leave before remembering something else. "Oh also! I've got a chem test coming up soon so do you think we could fit in a few study sessions. Not tonight because I just want to eat stir fry and watch tv after working on my essay but maybe tomorrow?"

"Works for me," Peter told her.

"Great," Jackie smiled. Turning to leave again, she shot Peter one last glance before running across the street to her house.

Peter shut the door, went upstairs and immediately fell asleep again. When he woke up three hours later, he wasn't sure if he'd dreamed the whole encounter or not, but wholeheartedly hoped he had not.

* * *

On most days, Jackie could pull it together for school. Even though she still wasn't sleeping that well, due to nightmares, every morning she would have her coffee and eat the breakfast Elliot would make her and the walk to school with Peter would help wake her up.

However, today in Government she was falling asleep.

She'd stayed up late after working on and finishing her essay. Peter had come over for stir fry and she, Peter, Maggie and Elliot had watched a movie. It had been Elliot's turn to choose and he had chosen an eighties comedy which he'd claimed was groundbreaking and amazing but after re-watching it, even he admitted that it wasn't very good. Everyone had had fun making comments about the crazy hair and bad outfits. Then Maggie and Elliot had gone upstairs and Peter and Jackie had flipped through channels while talking. Jackie kept talking about how nervous she was for her internship. She could tell it made Peter somewhat uncomfortable though so after awhile she stopped talking about it. He'd left around midnight and then Jackie had stayed up until three looking up the history of _The_ _Daily Bugle _and J. Jonah Jameson and what they were currently reporting on. Then she had finally forced herself to go to sleep but she hadn't actually been asleep. She had remained in a strange in between state where she knew she wasn't fully asleep or awake. She was just there, waiting. She knew she should tell Maggie about the nightmares and the trouble sleeping but it never felt like the right time. She didn't want to see a therapist or talk about it. She wanted to move on.

On their walk to school, Peter had seemed to notice that Jackie was a little off but hadn't been quite sure how to ask her about it. Jackie sensed that Peter also struggled with sleep. He was obviously not a morning person seeing as on the weekends she usually didn't see him until around two pm or later.

"Jackie?" a voice wondered, catching Jackie's attention. Her eyes shot open and she saw Mia standing in front of her with a questioning look on her face. Her hair was curly today and she looked very put together as usual in her typical statement necklace and cardigan combo. Mia smiled politely, "I think you fell asleep."

"I think I did too," Jackie agreed, sitting up straighter, she looked around the room self consciously praying that she hadn't been drooling or snoring. Her eyes fell on Ms. Nichols who was scrolling through something on her computer. Jackie had the feeling that Ms. Nichols was not aware of her quick nap. She tended to look at her Powerpoint's more that at the students. "Did anyone notice?" She asked Mia.

"No I think you're okay," Mia assured her, "Did you miss the instructions for the project though?"

"Yes," Jackie nodded, not remembering hearing Ms. Nichols mention a single word about a project.

"It's a research project where we look at other countries governments and compare it to America's," Mia explained, twisting a finger around one of her curls and letting it bounce back into place. She paused a moment before saying, "It's a partner project."

"Oh," Jackie nodded letting that wash over her. Everyone was already paired up by now. She looked around the room to see everyone sitting with their partners discussing what they were going to do. Then she looked at Mia who was looking at her expectantly and realized what was happening and let out a sigh of relief. Mia wanted to be her partner.

"Oh!" wanting to make sure she was interpreting the situation correctly, Jackie cleared her throat a little bit before asking, "Do you have a partner?"

"Nope," Mia said quickly. She could tell she was just as relieved that Jackie had wanted to be her partner. Jackie was surprised that no one else had gone for Mia. Mia was very smart. However, it was probably due to her quietness that most people had just paired up with friends or whoever they'd made eye contact with first.

Jackie had seen Mia with other people before. She was on student council or something like that so it wasn't like she didn't have friends. However, Jackie often saw her working in the library by herself or waiting for the bus alone. She always seemed to be doing homework or studying.

"Good," Jackie told her. Looking around the room, she was glad Mia had chosen her as there was no one else she knew or desired to work with.

Mia quickly grabbed her textbook from her own desk and then pulled up a chair near Jackie's desk. "How's your head?" Mia asked opening up her textbook. She still appeared to feel somewhat guilty for the locker incident

"Oh fine! No marks or anything." Jackie told her gesturing to her forehead, while reaching into her bag to pull out her own textbook, "I'm usually not so distracted that I run into lockers. Also I usually don't fall asleep during class."

Mia shrugged with a smile and replied, "It happens to the best of us," she seemed to reach the page she'd been looking for in the text and then passed the rubric to Jackie, "Alright this assignment is fifteen percent of our grade and due around Thanksgiving break so I'd really like to hit the ground running and do a good job."

"Right," Jackie agreed, "Where would you like to start then?"

For the rest of the class, Jackie and Mia mapped out what other countries they were going to focus on for their research project. They ended up deciding that Jackie would cover Nigeria and the United Kingdom while Mia would focus on China and Iran. Jackie could tell that grades were very important Mia, who worked very diligently while the rest of the class messed around on their laptops.

"Do you have time to work on this after school?" Mia asked Jackie in the last few minutes of class.

"Yeah sure," Jackie nodded, "Peter is coming over to tutor me around six, but I'm free from after until then."

"Oh Parker tutors you?" Coming out of anyone else mouth, this would probably some sort of insult, but Mia just seemed honestly curious.

"Since I just moved here I'm pretty behind chemistry and he's really science-y," Jackie explained.

"Does your house work?" Mia wondered, "My mom and her boyfriend are out of town so I'm staying with my dad but he lives in Brooklyn so its a pretty big commute."

"Sure," Jackie nodded, "I usually walk but we could take the bus if you'd like."

"No its fine we can walk," Mia said, starting to pack her bag, "Which neighborhood are you in?"

"Forest Hill," Jackie replied. She was just beginning to become familiar with all of the Queens neighborhoods. She still felt pretty disoriented when it came to getting to Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. She realized that she'd need to plan out how she was going to get down to Manhattan tomorrow to get to _The Daily Bugle _headquarters.

Mia nodded in recognition, "Oh sweet, that's not that far. I'll meet you after school then? My locker?" She questioned and Jackie nodded.

"I'll try not to run into it," Jackie replied making Mia laugh.

The two exchanged numbers before going their separate ways.

Jackie had had friends back in San Francisco but not the kind of friends who she'd spent much time with outside of school. They were more people to hang out with at lunch or pair up with for group projects or go to school events with. She'd switched groups a couple times between Freshman, Sophomore and Junior year. Freshman year she'd hung out with her friends from middle school. Sophomore year she'd worked behind the scenes for the theater and had hung out with those kids and then hung out with her first and only boyfriends friends. Junior year she'd split time between the debate club and the photography club during her short lived photography phase. It wasn't that she hadn't liked any of the people in these groups, it was more that none of them had really stuck. She really had not had too much trouble leaving those people behind. A few of them had come to visit her in the hospital after the crash and it just felt so fake and forced. She felt like a different person.

It was so strange to her that she'd already managed in her first few weeks of school to make a genuine friend, Peter. And now Mia was coming over. She didn't want to put to much pressure on it, but Jackie really liked Mia and saw a lot of possible friend potential.

Suddenly, Jackie felt slightly more awake.

* * *

Jackie met Mia at her locker as they had planned.

Peter had slipped off during lunch claiming he wasn't feeling well while faking a cough. Jackie guessed that really he was really just trying to get out of the test he had next period. He'd agreed to meet her at six though to help her with her chemistry test studying.

"You ready?" Jackie asked.

"Lead the way," Mia answered.

The two girls headed outside, walking at a brisk pace. Jackie shivered a little bit. She still didn't have a good coat and her heaviest jacket was not going to last her once it started getting colder.

"Did you hear about the fire in Manhattan?" Mia said, wanting to start conversation as the walked.

"No!" Jackie said shook her head, squirming a little bit.

Jackie didn't like fire.

After the initial car crash with her mother, the hood of their car had caught fire. Jackie's mother had died instantly as her neck had snapped the moment she hit the dashboard. The front windshield had shattered. Luckily Jackie had managed to cover her face from the glass but Jackie had been trapped against the dashboard, tied down by her seatbelt.

The firefighter had managed to pull her out before things got to bad but the fire from the hood had caused severe second and some third degree burns across Jackie's stomach and shoulders, which had caused a lot of complications. She'd needed multiple surgeries to get her skin looking as normal as it could be but still had giant scars all over her torso.

She hated how vain she felt about her scars but she was not comfortable with anyone seeing them. She knew she was lucky that she hadn't gotten burns on her face or chest but she still hated them. They were a constant reminder of what had happened. She wore her clothes strategically to cover the scars. That meant no more crop tops or tank tops. She didn't want to see the scars or have people stare at her, wondering what happened.

Although the crash had been the first day of August, because of Jackie's burns, she hadn't been able to leave the hospital until late September. Maggie had stayed with Jackie throughout her surgeries and burn treatment therapy. She hadn't needed physical therapy but she had an upcoming doctors appointment to take a look at the scars and make sure they were healing properly and were not infected. Some of the areas burned had destroyed nerve endings which meant that some areas on her shoulders and stomach felt numb all the time.

Since the crash, Jackie had managed to get in a car without completely loosing it, although she did prefer to sit in the back as the car crash she'd been in had been head on. However, she hated fire. She couldn't stand candles and hated the idea of having to use the bunsen burner in chemistry class. Often time she even had trouble with the oven or stove.

Jackie took a deep breath, "What happened?" she asked swallowing, hoping she wasn't making her discomfort too obvious.

Mia didn't seem to notice which meant Jackie wasn't being obvious, as Mia tended to be pretty observant. She continued, "This apartment building near Oscorp randomly caught on fire during lunch period. The fire department thinks it may have been arson."

"Was anyone hurt?" Jackie asked quickly.

Mia shook her head, "No luckily Spider-Man got there on time to get the people out and the firemen stopped the fire."

"Wow, that is lucky," Jackie mused.

"Seriously," Mia agreed. The two walked in silence for a minute as Jackie digested this news. Finally Mia cleared her throat and asked, "Do you know what you're doing next year?"

"Next year?" Jackie questioned not sure what she was referring to.

"For college?" Mia specified.

"Oh…" Jackie trailed off, "Um not really."

"Oh are you not going?" Mia wondered curiously.

"No I am…" Jackie told her automatically, "At least I think I am… I don't know I haven't really thought about it."

That wasn't true.

It wasn't so much that she wasn't thinking about it, it was more so that she was avoiding the subject. Last year she would have said that she was going to stay on the west coast. However now she wasn't so sure. Now her family was Maggie and unofficially Elliot. She had just moved and didn't want to think about moving all the way back to California again. She'd already taken the SAT's junior year, but had not toured any schools. Maggie and Elliot had brought up college a few times but just in passing. They hadn't sat down together and discussed a game plan or anything.

"What about you?" Jackie asked, wanting to take the focus off of herself.

"I am doing early decision to NYU. If I can swing a scholarship there, that is my first choice," Mia explained, Jackie could see how passionate she was about going to NYU, "If not I'm also applying to UPenn, Boston College, Vassar, Hamilton, and Colgate. Mostly New York schools but I'd love to stay in the city. I'll need financial aid wherever I go though so it may come down to who offers the most, if any."

"Wow those are all top colleges," Jackie said, not hiding how impressed she was.

"I've always been pretty good at school," Mia said honestly. Mia had a way of saying things that could come off as bragging or being too frank or candid but coming from her, it was just the truth, which was something that Jackie appreciated.

Jackie had a bad habit of being humble about things she was good at and defensive of things she was bad at. For example she tended to downplay her writing so that people would be surprised if it was good. However, when people she didn't know very well commented on her math or science abilities she would get very passionate when she telling them that she worked hard and some people were just not meant to be mathematicians and that the arts were just as important as math and science.

From the short time that she'd spent Mia that day, Jackie could already tell that Mia was not like this. It wasn't that she was not humble, she was just honest.

"If you _do_ want to go to college, the counselors at Midtown are pretty awesome," Mia suggested.

"Thanks," Jackie said appreciatively, although she was a little bit jealous of how sure and together Mia seemed.

Finally they'd reached Jackie's house.

"This is it," Jackie said opening the door for Mia, who walked inside taking everything in. For the most part they were all moved in now but there were still a few boxes here and there. "Hello?" Jackie called out not expecting anyone to be home.

"Hey kiddo," Maggie called from upstairs, surprising Jackie. She appeared at the top of the stairs and made her way down, "I had a half day today," she explained answering Jackie's unasked question, she then saw Mia and smiled, "Hi, I'm Maggie!" She said enthusiastically introducing herself.

"I'm Mia."

"Mia and I are doing a project for Government," Jackie explained, "I think we're going to work in the living room if that okay. If you need the tv we can work in my room or the dining room."

"Living room is fine!" Maggie shrugged as she grabbed her purse and started putting on a jacket, "There's food in the kitchen. Help yourself. I'm going to go out to get some more grocery's. Elliot left a list but do you need anything?"

"Nope I'm good," Jackie said.

Maggie smiled, "Alright, have fun then! I'll see you later!" She called before running out the door.

Once she had left Mia asked with wide eyes, "Is that your mom?"

"No!" Jackie said laughing at the idea, "No, that is my older sister Maggie. I live with her."

"Oh," Mia nodded.

Jackie could tell Mia wanted to ask why she lived with her sisters and so decided to indulge her, "My mother passed away earlier this year."

"I'm so sorry," Mia immediately looked guilty, which was a lot of peoples responses upon hearing about her mother.

"It's fine," Jackie said looking down at her hands, "I mean it's not fine but I'm dealing…" there was a long silence where Jackie could tell Mia didn't know what to say, "Should we get started on the project then?" Jackie asked.

"Okay," Mia agreed thankfully.

The two worked on the project for two hours, getting a pretty good start on their research. Jackie provided snacks and the two talked while they worked. Jackie learned that Mia's parents had been divorced since she was seven but they were still good friends. She wanted to be a doctor, but she wasn't sure what kind of doctor yet. She was student body secretary and played the cello. Her plan was to major in biology and minor in music because she loved the cello so much.

"Alright my dad said he is already on his way," Mia said putting down her phone. It was almost six, meaning Peter was coming over soon. Mia began packing her bag and making small talk, "Do you have anything fun planned for Halloween?"

"Not really," Jackie admitted, "What about you?"

"No plans yet," Mia said shaking her head and putting away her laptop.

"You could come over if you wanted," Jackie found herself saying before she knew what she was doing, "We could watch scary movies and give out candy or something."

Mia looked fairly surprised at Jackie's forwardness and squinted a little bit as if trying to decide if Jackie was being serious or not, "Really?"

"Why not?" Jackie shrugged.

"Huh," Mia nodded, thinking about the offer, "Are you sure?" She questioned

"Yes," Jackie told her, "You don't have to though…"

"No, no, no!" Mia stopped her, "That sounds like fun."

"Cool," Jackie said smiling, pleasantly surprised at how things had gone.

"Are you available to work again tomorrow?" Mia asked.

"Actually I'm not…" Jackie trailed off and then decided to share her internship with Jackie, "I'm actually starting an internship tomorrow."

"Oh really!" Mia said, "Where?"

"_The Daily Bugle_."

"Oh I heard about that internship!" Mia said, her eyes widening, "That's incredible. You'll do great. Alright, can we do Friday then?"

"I think that will work, but I'll let you know if something comes up" Jackie agreed.

Mia's phone buzzed, "My dad is here," She said reading the message on the screen.

"I'll walk you out then," Jackie said standing and walking towards the door with Mia.

When she opened the door, Peter was standing a few feet away on the porch, about to knock. Both Mia and Jackie jumped a little bit, not expecting Peter to be out there.

"Peter you scared me!" Jackie told him being slightly overdramatic.

"Hey Peter," Mia said calmly.

"Hey Mia," Peter greeted, seeming surprised to see Mia standing in Jackie's doorway.

Mia quickly passed by Peter making her way down to the car parked in front of Jackie's house, "Bye Jackie, I'll see you later!" She called, waving before getting in the car.

"You were hanging out with Mia Graham?" Peter asked, still standing in the doorway.

"We're doing a project together for gov," Jackie explained, moving aside to let Peter in.

"I see," Peter said walking in.

"Mia is really cool though," Jackie informed Peter as she shut the door behind her and walked towards the living room, "She's gonna come over for Halloween. You're invited too of course."

"Of course," Peter agreed laughing.

"Are you feeling better?" questioned Jackie smiling before adding, "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No I'm good," Peter told her as she got up to go get herself a glass of water, "And yes I'm feeling much better," Peter nodded taking a seat on the sofa.

"You were never sick to begin with you liar!" Jackie accused as she filled up her glass.

"What? What do you mean?" Peter deadpanned suddenly seeming nervous.

"You just wanted to skip your test didn't you?" Jackie laughed making her way back to the living room.

"Yeah, yeah that's why I left school," Peter nodded agreeing with her, "You caught me!" He said holding his hands up in defeat.

"I knew it," Jackie said rolling her eyes.

"Well then," Peter said changing the subject, "Shall we get started on chemistry then?"

"Sure," Jackie said, getting her chemistry book out of her backpack.

Just then the door swung open and Maggie entered, carrying five bags of groceries. She looked winded and Peter immediately got up to help her, taking all of the bags from her and carrying them as if they weighted two pounds as Jackie stared in amazement. She still did not really understand how Peter was so strong and agile. It was almost inhuman how much he seemed to be able to carry.

"Hey sorry I'm late!" Maggie called stretching her arms, looking grateful to be relieved of all the weight. "Oh and thanks Peter," Maggie called to the kitchen.

"No problem!" Peter called back as he set the bags down on the island counter.

"Where _have_ you been?" Jackie said pretending to be the authority figure, she stood and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I ran into a college friend at the grocery store and we stopped to get coffee and catch up," Maggie explained.

"You had me worried _sick_ Margaret Rose Carter!" Jackie joked, shaking her head in disappointment. Jackie and Maggie's mother had never been strict about curfew or anything so Jackie was going off what she'd seen in movies and television.

"Oh quit being so over dramatic Jacqueline," Maggie said, using Jackie's full name for emphasis.

"Yeah Jacqueline!" Peter called from the kitchen, making Jackie scowl. Jackie and Maggie made their way to the kitchen to help put away the groceries.

"Did Mia go home?" Maggie wondered as she unpacked one of the grocery bags.

"Yes," Jackie answered emptying one of the bags and putting the eggs in the refrigerator, "She's coming over on Friday though depending on how scheduling goes tomorrow. And we're hanging out on Halloween."

"Oh! Fun!" Maggie said cheerfully.

"She thought you were my mom," Jackie commented smirking.

"What?" Peter and Maggie both said together in surprise.

"Well she didn't know that I lived with my sister," Jackie laughed.

"I'm only twenty-seven!" Maggie whined, "I'm don't look old enough to be a mother yet do I? I'm not even engaged yet!"

"No you don't look old enough to be a mom, let alone my mom," Jackie assured her and then added, "And I'm sure Elliot will propose soon. He'd be an idiot not to."

Maggie blushed and didn't say anything as she continued to put away the groceries with Peter and Jackie's help.

When they were finished, Maggie retreated upstairs and Peter and Jackie went back to the kitchen.

"Okay, back to chemistry," Peter said taking his seat on the couch once again.

"Back to chemistry," Jackie agreed.

"You have a test," Peter stated.

"I have a test," Jackie nodded, "Dr. Bard gave us a practice but didn't give us an answer sheet for the practice test so I was thinking I could work on this and then you could correct it and then we could see what I need to work on."

"Fine by me," Peter nodded.

"Alright," Jackie said pulling out a pencil and the practice test. She went through the practice test question by question as Peter worked on his homework. As she worked though, she kept thinking about the conversation she'd had with Mia earlier about college. What did she want to do? Where did she want to go? She had no clue but suddenly she couldn't stop thinking about it. She didn't have very long to figure out the rest of her life as college applications were due very soon.

"I'm done," she told Peter handing him the study practice test.

"Okay, let's take a look at this," Peter said pulling out a pen and starting to go through her paper. She watched as Peter began marking equations down on his piece of scratch paper. God, he was smart. She felt so fortunate to have such a brilliant and kind friend. Where was Peter going to school? He was like Mia, where he could probably go anywhere he wanted. Why didn't Jackie know what Peter was doing? They'd never talked about which seemed weird seeing as they had spent quite a bit of time together.

"Hey Peter?" Jackie blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What?" Peter asked looking up from grading her practice test.

"What are you doing next year?" Jackie questioned.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, what are you doing for like… college?" Jackie felt like maybe she should have waited for a different moment to ask this question. But now it was out there and there was nothing she could do about it, "Are you going?"

"I think so," Peter nodded, "Why?"

Jackie let out a loud sigh, "I just think its weird that… well I mean I know we haven't known each other all that long but I consider you a friend and college is supposed to be a big part of senior year and we haven't talked about it!" She was talking very fast and look a deep breath at the end of her rant.

"I'm almost done with my application to Empire State University," He answered honestly.

"Empire State?" She repeated to herself.

"Yeah I want to stay local, you know so I can check up on Aunt May and because… I have ties here. It has a good science program. And even though its not quite as renowned as NYU it is cheaper," He informed her.

Jackie nodded, taking all this new information in, "I'm sorry about the freak out. It's just I was talking with Mia and she has this whole plan for what she's going to do next year and I have no clue where I want to go to school. And applications are due around Thanksgiving and its already almost Halloween so that's less then a month."

"Jackie don't worry about it," Peter said calmly, "Even if you don't know where you want to go, it's just important to apply. You can decide later. You've taken your tests right?"

"Yeah I took the SAT last year," she said. Her mom had forced her to but now she was feeling very grateful that she had.

"That's good," he assured her, "I would suggest talking to Maggie about it and then maybe see one of the schools counselors to get help with where to apply." Apparently Jackie still looked unsure because he added, "Jackie don't worry about it, whatever you do will be the right decision."

"Thanks Peter," Jackie said nodding, feeling a lot less worried, "Thank you."

"Of course," He told her.

His eyes caught hers and for a moment it seemed like he was going to say something else but both Peter and Jackie looked away, hearing the click of the lock at the front door. Elliot appeared from around the corner. He smiled upon seeing Jackie and Peter, "Hey Peter," Elliot said with a small head nod before turning to Jackie and giving her a nod too, "How was school?"

"Pretty good," Jackie said with a shrug, "Oh, before I forget, do you think you could help me later find the quickest route from here to _The Daily Bugle _building in Manhattan for tomorrow?"

"Of course," Elliot agreed taking off his coat, "I'll help you map it out." He looked around before asking, "Is Maggie home?"

"Yeah she's upstairs in your room," Jackie nodded.

"Okay," Elliot said as pulled out a bouquet of flowers from his brief case.

"Are those for Maggie?" Jackie asked beaming, already knowing the answer. Her sister had found herself a keeper.

"Yeah, three years and three months we went on our first date," Elliot explained, looking a little bit embarrassed.

"She hates peonies," Jackie lied.

"No she doesn't they're her favorite flower!" Elliot said defensively.

"Good job, you passed the best boyfriend ever test," Jackie informed him approvingly.

"You scared me there for a second!" Elliot laughed, "On our first date Maggie told me that peonies are her favorite so I was about to question everything that I know about the woman."

"Well go give them to the woman you old softie" Jackie said gesturing to the staircase. Elliot rolled his eyes but followed Jackie's instructions, heading upstairs. Peter and Jackie both listened and heard a shrill squeal from Maggie as she saw the peonies.

"Wow the guy makes every other boyfriend in the world look like a slacker," Peter commented once he had .

"Oh you have no idea," Jackie told him, "He really does need to propose soon though. For such a smart guy, he has not been picking up Maggie's hints at all. I've been telling Maggie to just pull a Monica from _Friends_ and propose to him herself but she doesn't seem to think it's a good idea."

"What is your favorite type of flower?" Peter wondered out loud.

"Dahlia's," Jackie answered automatically, she then paused for a moment, "Why?" she questioned.

"I don't know... just in case I guess," Peter shrugged.

_Just in case what? _Jackie wanted to ask but Peter had already gone back to grading Jackie's paper.

She'd done an okay on the practice test receiving a B. However, Jackie thought she could do better. Peter went over how to balance chemical equations again and the properties of pH and covered chemical bonding. By the end, Jackie was feeling slightly more confident but knew she still had a lot of studying to do.

"I better head off," Peter said, standing to leave.

"It's probably for the best," Jackie agreed standing to walk him to the door.

Peter was about to leave when he turned back, "By the way, Empire State is supposed to have an excellent journalism program. You should check it out," He told her.

"I will," Jackie assured him with a nod, there was a small silence that Jackie felt like she need to fill so she added, "Goodnight Peter,"

"Goodnight Jackie," He smiled in reply, back before turning to leave again.

Jackie closed the door and went back to the living room and peered out the window, where she could see Peter crossing the street, going back to his house. She felt a quick surge of emotion towards Peter but quickly suppressed it. They were friends. They had good chemistry. He was nice to her. That didn't mean there was anything between them. She quickly told herself to forget whatever she'd just felt. She couldn't mess up her friendship with Peter.

She was still tired. It felt like so long ago now that she'd been falling asleep in government. Had that all happened today? She let out a large yawn and decided that was a signal that it was time for bed. She made her way upstairs and after saying goodnight to Elliot and Maggie, who were watching Netflix in bed together with Maggie's peonies on her bedside table, she changed in to her pajamas and collapsed into bed, falling asleep almost immediately for another restless night of sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Another chapter out so soon? WHAT?

Yes. This chapter seemed to just flow out of me! It's a super long chapter too rounding out to about sixteen pages in my word document! So I hope that you enjoy it! It may seem a bit filler-y but it's not! There's some important information in there about Jackie. Also, YAY, Mia's first real introduction as Jackie's friend. I love and think girl friendships are so important and hate when books/movies/tv have friends or side characters show up only to talk about a characters crush or love interest, so trust me that is not what or who Mia is.

Anyways, this chapter goes out to **Nellie, Ichilchi **and **The-Effulgent-One**. They are 100% the reason why this chapter got done so fast!

If you want the next chapter to be updated as fast as the last one, **_a review would really help_**. I'm not kidding, every time I get a review I open the document and write about three more pages because I feel so inspired knowing people are reading. (Hoping this doesn't sound to demanding/greedy/desperate)

Also thanks for the favorites and follows on the stories! Shout out to **Grazielly**, **LovernonFighter89**, **MarvelWorkerWonders** and **DreamonAlina **for that! (Really hoping I didn't forget anyone there!)

Hope people are enjoying the story!

THANKS FOR READING THIS REALLY LONG CHAPTER!

Also good luck to anyone with finals right now! Study hard!


	6. Chapter 6: Best Shot

"So how are you feeling?"

Peter and Jackie were sitting in their study room during lunch. Jackie was picking at her sandwich and drumming her hands on the table while Peter tried to study for his biology test that he'd missed the previous day. He wasn't very nervous though as he had a ninety-eight percent in the class.

"Peter, I'm fine!" Jackie assured him, "And I was fine the last fifteen times you asked too!"

In a few hours, Jackie would be heading downtown to go to her internship. Peter had asked her in various words and phrases throughout the day how she was doing. Her answer had been the same every time, she was doing okay.

That morning, Elliot had helped her plan her route to get to Manhattan while Maggie had helped her plan her outfit. After much deliberation they sisters had decided on a pair of black skinny jeans, a maroon button up blouse and a trench coat paired with black knee high boots. It was nicer than what she normally wore to school but it wasn't over the top. It also covered her scars. Maggie was the only person who knew about the severity of the scars and so was the most helpful when asking for wardrobe help.

The plan was that after school, she would walk a few blocks and catch the 2:50 subway downtown. She'd taken public transportation a lot in San Francisco, with the BART trains, however it was a much more complex system in New York. Once downtown, she would walk three blocks to the _Daily Bugle_ headquarters. She'd looked up several pictures of the building online so she knew what to look for once she got there. She hadn't been downtown by herself before, which was reason enough to be nervous but she also really wanted to make a good first impression.

"Alright, alright," said Peter, "Just checking."

There was a knock on the glass sliding door which caused both Jackie and Peter to turn. It was Mia. Peter gave Jackie a puzzled look to which Jackie replied with a shrug before beckoning Mia in. Mia carefully slid the door open.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" She asked very politely and before Peter or Jackie could answer she quickly started with an explanation, "The school is doing tours and so every five minutes a different tour group comes in to the library and standing right where I'm sitting. And the parents ask loud questions and the kids don't care at all and just talk and its very distracting."

"No problem," Jackie told her and gestured to a chair near her.

Mia smiled taking a seat, "I love your outfit Jackie."

"Oh thank you!" Jackie said gratefully.

It was quiet for a few seconds until Mia decided to talk again, "Are you studying for the biology test?" Mia asked Peter.

"Yeah," Peter nodded.

"It really wasn't that bad. More of a long quiz than a test," Mia informed him, "The most important thing was knowing about the different parts of DNA like I think one of the questions was… what is a sugar that occurs in DNA but not RNA which is…?"

"Deoxyribose," Peter answered immediately, like he was saying his own name.

"Right," Mia agreed.

"That's the whole test?"

"Pretty much," Mia nodded.

"Oh sweet," Peter said closing his notes and leaning back in his chair.

"Are you two in the same biology class?" Jackie asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes," Peter answered.

"AP Bio," Mia added.

"Ugh, why is everyone I know good at math and science?" Jackie groaned.

"I'm not _that_ good at math," Peter pointed out.

"What is twenty-six times thirteen?" Jackie wondered aloud.

"Three hundred thirty eight," Peter and Mia both automatically responded in unison making Jackie laugh. Mia and Peter both exchanged a smile but both looked a little embarrassed.

"Nerds," Jackie said shaking her head.

"Geek is chic," Mia insisted which elicited a high five from Peter, "Anyways," Mia shrugged, "there is no need to drag Peter into this. I think I'm a little bit more of a nerd than he is."

"What?" Peter said mocking offense, "No way!"

"I think Mia is more of a nerd but Peter is more of a geek," Jackie decided and Mia nodded in agreement.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Peter inquired, feeling like he was missing something.

"I don't know if is as much of a meaning as much as it is a feeling or a vibe I get from the both of you," Jackie said pretending to get very philosophical.

"You are full of it!" Peter declared.

"Hey, watch it or I'll demote you to dork!" Jackie threatened, throwing a pencil at him, which he caught lazily and with ease.

"Is that bad?" Peter asked twirling the pencil in his hand.

"Oh it's bad," Jackie told him somberly, trying not to smile.

"Very bad," Mia concurred which lead to Mia and Jackie collapsing into a fit of giggles.

The bell rang and everyone in the library begin to shuffle, standing up to get to their next and final class. Jackie's last period was a study hall in the library. She'd decided that instead of obsessing over the _Daily Bugle _during the study hall, she would do some college research. She'd made up her mind to talk to Maggie about it as soon as possible and had signed up for a college councilors appointment next week.

Mia and Peter both stood, both having to get to their AP Biology class. Peter quickly packed up his bag and Mia waited for him. Jackie was relieved that Mia and Peter seemed to get along. She'd definitely established her friendship with Peter enough to be confident that they were not just friends of connivence or fair-weather friends, but with Mia it was still new, and if Mia and Peter hadn't gotten along it could have been a deal breaker.

"I'll see you both later," Jackie told the pair, "Enjoy AP Bio! I know I wouldn't."

"Good luck on your first day at the _Bugle_," Mia said waving goodbye to Jackie.

Peter lingered behind a little bit, "If I don't see you before you leave after school, you're going to do great!" Peter promised her before turning to follow Mia out of the library and to class.

Jackie grinned, feeling very thankful to have such supportive people in her life.

* * *

The sky was crying.

During the last ten minutes of study hall Jackie had noticed a soft and repetitive beating coming from outside. When she'd finally torn herself away from her college research her face had fallen when she'd seen that it was raining. It started off as a drizzle but quickly got worse. By the time the final bell rang it was pouring.

At first, Jackie had tried to remain calm. She could deal with a little bit of rain. It rained all the time in San Francisco. However, as the sound of the rain pounding got harder, so did the pounding of her heart in her chest.

She walked to her locker slowly hoping that by some miracle it would stop raining by the time she needed to go outside.

Her hoping did not pay off though.

"Shit!" Jackie muttered from the doorway looking around for some alternative. Rain had not been in the forecast. She had not prepared for rain. People were running to catch the buses or to get to their cars. The subway station was about three blocks away, and with no protection she would probably be soaked by then. She looked around, trying to think of another option to get there. For a moment, she considered calling Maggie or Elliot, but knew that both of them would freak out and try to come help her.

She took a deep breath knowing what she had to do and took a step expecting the worst.

However, nothing happened. She was definitely outside but she wasn't getting wet. She looked up to see and bright red umbrella hanging over her and when she turned around to see who's arm was holding the umbrella she saw Peter.

"Oh my god Peter!" Jackie thought she might cry because of how thankful she was, "You brought an umbrella to school?"

"More like borrowed," Peter corrected, "Although, I don't know who's umbrella it is so it may be hard to return…"

"You stole an umbrella?" Jackie questioned laughing a little bit.

"If you want to get technical I may have snatched it when someone wasn't looking, but I'm sure that they would approve of me using it if they knew about your internship," Peter explained, his words dripping with irony.

"I'm sure," Jackie agreed, knowing full well that he'd made that up.

"Shall we then?" Peter asked taking a step forward.

"Are you coming with me?" Jackie asked surprised.

Peter began walking into the rain and Jackie ducked to stay under the umbrella, "Yeah, I'll make sure you don't get lost," He informed her.

Jackie opened her mouth to argue but realized it would probably be better to get to the subway stop with some help, rather than getting lost alone.

They were now walking off school grounds. It was still pouring rain. Both Jackie and Peter fit under the umbrella but they had to walk at the same pace which was a little difficult because Peter had longer legs than Jackie. Puddles were forming on the ground and Jackie was very thankful that her boots were leather instead of the suede boots she'd been thinking of wearing.

"Are you sure you don't have anything better to do?" Jackie asked him nervously.

"Nope. I'm all yours," He answered, they were beginning to have to talk louder due to the pounding of the rain.

"Okay," Jackie decided to give up with the questions and just accept Peter's help but added, "You're not coming all the way downtown with me. You're just taking me to the subway."

"Your wish is my command," Peter smirked.

They reached the station in good time due to Peter's fast pace and Jackie speed walking to keep up with him and stay under the umbrella. A few stray drops had hit her, but for the most part she was dry. She was a little cold but she knew better than to complain when she was already so lucky that Peter had come around with the umbrella.

Peter helped her get her ticket and she was about to go through the barriers when she turned to face Peter, "Thank you so much Peter," Jackie said genuinely, "You're a life saver! I have no clue what I would have done with out you. My hero!"

Peter let out a loud laugh and Jackie raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What? What is so funny?" she wondered.

"Nothing," Peter shrugged noting the irony of her calling him her hero.

Jackie tilted her head to the side in confusion and gave a little laugh, "Okay then," she said still unsure why he had laughed, "Well I better be off! Thank you again though!"

"Jackie stop thanking me!" Peter insisted.

"No I will continue to thank you!" Jackie told him, "You cannot stop me!"

"Fine, but don't miss your train!" Peter said gesturing to the barrier, "And take the umbrella!"

"What?" Jackie stopped and shook her head, "No, I can't take it. How are you going to get home? You'll get all wet."

"Catch," Peter said tossing her the red umbrella which she caught. When he knew that the umbrella was in her hand, he quickly turned and started walking the other direction, out of the station.

"Wait!" Jackie yelled to him, clutching the umbrella and waving it as if trying to attract his attention, "You're going to get all wet! Take the umbrella!"

"Go get your train!" Peter called back with a wave, "And good luck!"

"Fine, but if you catch pneumonia do not blame me!" Jackie yelled back.

Peter disappeared up the stairs to go home and Jackie quickly went through the ticket barrier and caught the train.

* * *

The webs never worked quite as well in the rain.

They worked but they were weaker as they shot out of his web shooters. They attached to things but he never felt quite as stable. He should work on that, he decided. That would be one of his new upgrades. He made a mental note to look into further water proofing the webs when he got home.

It was crazy how far Spider-Man had come since the beginning. Peter had started out with just a mask. Then he'd added the web shooters. Then he'd made the suit. The suit had changed everything. It had turned him from some guy with a mask to a mysterious vigilante or hero type figure.

If only people knew that it was really just a senior in high school behind the mask. Most people wouldn't believe it. Peter himself sometimes had to remind himself that it was really him inside the suit.

It was moments like earlier when Jackie had called him her hero that he had to remind himself how separate the worlds of Spider-Man and Peter Parker were, although it had not stopped him from laughing about the irony of it all.

At that moment, he was on the roof of a building near Central Park. He'd told himself that he was going downtown to check on things since it was the first day of heavy storming in New York in awhile. Usually on the first day of it raining, people would forget how to drive and there would be a couple of car crashes. Also people were just generally more vulnerable. If he was being honest with himself though, it was because of Jackie. The building he'd chosen was by no accident directly above the subway station where she was supposed to get off at. He was scanning the crowd for the bright red umbrella he'd "borrowed" for her.

After dropping her off at the subway stop in Queens, he'd quickly changed and headed to downtown as fast as he possibly could. He'd wanted to let her get there by herself since she'd seemed so intent on being independent and not wanting to bother other people with her problems, however, he also knew how important the internship was to her, and wanted to make sure she got there without any issues.

He wondered how Jackie would react if she knew he was here now. He knew she wouldn't approve. She'd probably tell him off for not thinking she could do it herself, which wasn't true. He knew she was capable. He was just doing what any good friend would do and helping her on her way.

Peter had been waiting about ten minutes now, and by his calculations Jackie's subways would be approaching at any moment now. It was still raining pretty hard and Peter was feeling very glad that the Spidey suit was insulated, as he was not cold or wet.

A flash of red caught his eye and he sat up a little straighter. It was Jackie with the red umbrella. From thirty stories up (which was not very high as far as Peter was concerned) he could make out her maroon top, olive skin, and silky dark brown hair. It was fitting that she had the brightest umbrella out of anyone else as she herself stood out in the sea of New Yorkers. She paused for a moment getting her bearings before (to Peter's relief) she headed off in the right direction of _The_ _Daily Bugle _office.

He swung easily to the next building, keeping track of Jackie, making sure she was going the right way.

He saw a little boy notice him. The boys eyes grew wide and he began to tug on his mothers coat. Peter gave a small wave and then put a finger to his lips. The little boy, feeling important, nodded understandingly but snuck in one more glance before running to catch up with his mother. It was usually little kids who saw him during the day time. They were far more observant than adults.

Jackie turned the corner to the next street and when Peter looked up, he saw the Oscorp building. His heart pounded a little bit as he examined the tall sleek building. Ever since the Dr. Connors incident he didn't trust Oscorp. There had been a point where he'd idolized the company where his father had once worked, but now he knew that there was something no quite right going on at the famed company and he had a feeling it had something to do with the founder, Norman Osborn.

Peter had been following Oscorp in the news. They were under a lot of scrutiny from everyone because of the the Lizards attack and were trying not to draw attention to themselves. Peter wasn't sure if the fire he'd helped save people from the day before that had happened in an apartment building near Oscorp was related to the company or not but he was going to keep track of the story.

After a few more minutes and Jackie checking her directions once, she reached _The Daily Bugle _building. She waited for a moment before entering, appearing to take a deep breath before pushing the doors to the building open and disappearing inside. Peter watched for a moment, silently wishing Jackie good luck even though he already knew she would be fine. She was smart, easy to talk to and levelheaded. She would thrive in a fast paced environment like _The_ _Bugle_.

Peter heard someone yell from down below and he knew it was his cue to leave. He shot one more glance to _The Daily Bugle _tower before swinging off in the direction of the scream.

* * *

Jackie drummed her hand nervously on her thigh as the elevator climbed up and up to the top floor of _The Daily Bugle _tower. She wasn't quite sure why she was so nervous as she already gotten the internship but she couldn't stop feeling like she might mess it up in some way. She didn't want to disappoint her friends and family but most of all wanted something to go right in her life. For awhile Jackie felt like she'd just been drifting, but this was grounding her again and making her excited.

As the doors to the elevator opened and Jackie stepped out, she saw a bunch of desks in the center of the large room. Practically every inch of every single desk was covered in papers. File cabinets were stacked all around the tables and there were televisions hung up from the ceiling projecting the news. There were people everywhere, running around with stacks of papers, anxiously making telephone calls and talking quickly with other reporters. Glass offices surrounded the desks and Jackie assumed they belonged to the newspapers executives. No one seemed to notice Jackie's presence as they were all caught up in their work. She just stood and watched in amazement until a man carrying a load of papers knocked into Jackie stopping her trance. He let out a grunt but didn't even bother to ask who she was and continued on his way.

"Can I help you?" A woman to Jackie's left questioned. Jackie spun around to see a woman who appeared to be only a few years older than Jackie herself sitting at desk in front of an office. She appeared to be a secretary and had a bored expression on her face.

"Yes!" Jackie said relieved that someone that someone had noticed her, "Hi, I'm the new intern, Jackie Carter. You wouldn't happen to know where I'm supposed to go would you?" She questioned hoping she'd come to the right place. She'd followed the emailed instructions pretty carefully but she couldn't be sure.

The secretaries facial expression changed quickly from boredom to a smile, "Oh! I'm Betty, Betty Brant, Mr. Jameson's assistant and secretary! You've come to the right place!" She assured Jackie who nodded happily. She beckoned Jackie a little closer, "You're going to speak with Mr. Jameson in a moment," She informed Jackie.

"I am?" Jackie said very surprised. She hadn't expected to talk to the editor-in-chief on her first day. Behind Betty, Jackie realized was J. Jonah Jameson. He looked exactly like the pictures she'd seen of him online with his grey and dark brown flattop hair and mustache. He was furiously typing away on his computer.

"Yes, it's just standard protocol. Don't let him intimidate you. He'll probably just talk really fast and wave his cigar around and try to scare you a little but he really does want all of the interns to succeed," she promised Jackie.

"Okay," Jackie managed say.

"Alright," Betty nodded standing up, she knocked on the office door once before entering and Jackie trailed behind her, "Mr. Jameson-"

"Betty I've told you before, tell my wife I'm busy but I'll be home at seven!" Jameson said seeming preoccupied and annoyed that he was being interrupted. The room big but seemed cramped because of how unorganized everything was. It also was hazy and smelled because of Jameson's cigar.

"Sir it's not your wife, Jackie Carter is here," Betty explained.

"Who?" Jameson questioned, not hiding his lack of recognition of the name. He didn't even look up from his work.

"The new intern," Betty clarified rolling her eyes.

"Right, of course," he said shortly, finally looking up. His expression softened for a second but then he cleared his throat and he went back to looking very firm, "Come in, come in, take a seat" Jackie did as she was told. Betty gave her a quick thumbs up before returning to her desk and closing the door behind her. "What's your name again?" Jameson asked as Jackie sat down in a nearby chair.

"Jackie sir," Jackie recited.

"Right," Jameson nodded, talking very quickly, "Our last intern quit three weeks into the job. This is a fast paced work environment and not everyone can handle it," he told her, "You will be researching, printing, copying and doing errands. Basically you'll be doing whatever me, Betty and the journalists don't have time to do. How does that sound?"

"That sounds fine sir," Jackie answered quickly.

"Of course it does," Jameson agreed, "What's your schedule like?"

"I have school until two-thirty Monday through Friday."

"Okay Janie," Jackie opened her mouth to correct him but then closed it again realizing it would do nothing, "You'll come in from three to five-thirty Monday through Thursday. If you want to come in Friday's and weekends be my guest but because you're still in high school I'm not allowed to require you to come Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

"Okay."

"I should also mention that we're very busy around here and don't need some kid coming in and messing everything up. We'll need you to be professional and responsible." Jameson told her bluntly.

"Of course," Jackie agreed.

There was a rapid knock at the door and a mousy female journalist bustled in. She looked back and forth between Jackie and Jameson realizing that she'd interrupted something. "What do you want?" Jameson demanded.

His anger did not seem to phase her remotely and she explained looking down at a small notepad she was holding, "Spider-Man just stopped a car crash on seventh and broadway and saved four peoples lives."

"He probably caused the crash," Jameson announced, as if it was the only possible explanation, "I want it as page 2 in tomorrows paper and call it… 'Web-slinger Strikes Again'" Jackie thought that Jameson was a bit fast to jump to conclusions without all the facts but didn't say anything. It was amazing to watch the reporters at work and hoped one day, she could possibly be in their place. "Any luck getting a quote from Norman Osborn about the fire yesterday?" Jameson questioned.

"Chris is still working on it sir," the reporter told Jameson.

"Tell him to try harder," Jameson demanded.

"I will sir," the reporter nodded before quickly exiting.

Jameson turned back to Jackie, "Go ask Betty if she has anything for you to do," He instructed Jackie, "If she doesn't need help, go ask Chris two doors down if he needs help. Chris always needs help."

"Okay," Jackie agreed standing and walking towards the door.

"Welcome to _the Bugle_," He called after her. Jackie felt herself smiling but kept walking, not turning back.

* * *

**A/N: **So this update took a bit longer and I meant to do post it on Christmas but my moms family is Jewish so we were celebrating Hanukkah and then my dad family celebrates Christmas so we've had people at our house for like three weeks now and there just wasn't a lot of time for writing! So here is my late Hanukkah/Christmas present to all of you!

Kind of a filler chapter, I know but an important one none the less! Jackie's first day at the _Bugle_! What do you think?

To the people that reviewed **THANK YOU** _SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO_ (x1,000) much! These people would be **SwimmerGirl77**, **Nellie, IchiIchi, JDJPJST, ****The-Effulgent-One, Brianna Parker,****Lurker128, **and** A****valongirl55! **Also big shout out to **Dr Pantalons **who gave the sweetest review today which helped me reopen my word document and finish this and upload it!

I also wanted to answer **Avalongirl55**'s questions that she left in her review where she asked: "Is this before or after the movie? Is this in Amazing Spiderman universe or the other one? Where is Gwen in all of this, or MJ if its the other universe?"

This story is set kind of in an alternate universe of the most recent Amazing Spider-Man film series. In this story, the events of the first movie happened but without Gwen. Peter did everything by himself. There is no MJ. It's kind of it's own universe. I did this because there are so many stories out there where the OC has to fight with Gwen or MJ for Peter's affection and I wanted Jackie to be completely separate from that. She's her own character and not part of any love triangles.

Also thanks to everyone who favorited and followed the story! I love getting the emails saying that people have favorited and followed!

Alright so I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! I'm not promising to update soon but I really hope I will because I like writing this story! If you liked it and want to make me smile or want me to update soon a review would be much appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7: I Don't Know

"So…?" Peter questioned looking at Jackie expectantly.

They were standing outside of Dr. Bard's chemistry class which Jackie had just gotten out of. Peter had been waiting for her. Two days earlier she had taken her first big Chemistry test which Peter had helped her prep for. Jackie had left the test feeling pretty confident but she wasn't positive that she had aced it.

The past week had been the best she'd had since moving to New York. She was busier than she'd ever been before, but she loved it. She'd been interning for _The Bugle _for a week now and felt like she was starting to figure out her roll as an intern. She had done a lot of stereotypical intern things like going on coffee runs and copying millions of papers for pitch meetings. However she had also gotten to do research for a few articles and had even made a phone call to the mayors office for a quote (the mayors people had said "no comment" but she thought it was still pretty cool).

Jackie had also been issued a _Daily Bugle e_mployee badge with her name and a her picture on it_. _It allowed her to swipe into the archives room and she had her own employee ID number that got her into the databases and the security guards did not stop her when she was wearing it. She knew it was silly but she was proud of the badge. It made her feel important.

Mia no longer bothered to knock on the library study door and joined Peter and Jackie everyday for lunch. She and Jackie had been working on their government project pretty frequently and were already about three quarters of the way done.

Jackie had seen a little bit less of Peter since starting at _The Bugle_ but it wasn't dramatic and he didn't seem to mind. He seemed to be pretty busy himself. Although with what exactly, Jackie did not know.

Jackie took a dramatic sigh and looked down, trying to pretend that she was upset. She saw Peter's face fall a little bit but when she looked up again she was smiling, "Ninety one!" Jackie cheered holding up her chemistry test revealing that she'd received an A- on her test.

"That's amazing!" Peter said loudly, giving Jackie a high five.

"Couldn't have done it without you teach!" Jackie admitted honestly as the lunch bell rang. The hallway was beginning to clear out as people met up with their friends for lunch and headed to the cafeteria.

"Celebratory lunch in the library?" Peter offered gesturing towards the library down the hall.

Jackie laughed, "We always have lunch in the library," she pointed out.

"I'll give you my fruit snacks. Is that celebratory enough?"

Jackie shook her head and then sighed, "Oh man, you make a very tempting offer but I've got my counselor meeting in five minutes," She reminded him. Jackie had finally made an appointment with her counselor to talk about her options for college. She wasn't nervous, but she didn't know what to expect. College applications were due in a few weeks and she felt unprepared. She had already talked to Maggie who was very supportive and said they would make a game plan after Jackie talked to her counselor.

"Oh yeah!" Peter nodded remembering her appointment, "Let me know how that goes!"

"Oh I will, don't worry" Jackie assured him. Checking the time on her phone she decided it was probably time to go, "Ok, I better get to this meeting but it shouldn't take all of lunch so I'll see you in the library?"

"Sure," Peter agreed. The hallway had cleared almost entirely by this point apart from a few girls stopped at a locker, gossiping extremely loudly and a couple making out by the water fountain.

"I told Mia about the meeting so she knows its just you two for the first part of lunch," Jackie informed Peter. Mia and Peter had seemed to bond a little more since Mia had started joining them for lunch. The two were friendly with each other but most of the conversations that she had witnessed seemed to be either centered around Jackie or AP biology and usually Jackie had to initiate the conversations. It had never been just Mia and Peter at lunch so Jackie hoped they could find something else to talk about without Jackie in the room.

"Okay," Peter nodded seeming unperturbed by the thought of lunch being just he and Mia for a while. Jackie cheered internally hoping Mia and Peter would talk more.

"You better have those fruit snacks ready for me when I get there!" Jackie told him making a very serious face.

"I will," Peter laughed, "I'll see you later," He turned and began to make his way towards the library down the hall.

"Later then," Jackie said as she turned to go to her appointment. However a realization hit her and she quickly whipped around "Peter!" she called to him, he turned around curiously, already halfway to the library, "Where are the counselors office?" she questioned.

Peter looked amused, "Sometimes I forget you've only been at this school for a few weeks," he told her, "It's upstairs across the boys bathroom. There is a door and then a hallway where all the counselors are" He pointed directly above him and Jackie nodded, able to picture where it was.

"Okay thanks! See you later!" She said as she headed to the stairs, not wanting to be late. She could practically see Peter's annoyingly cute amused grin that he was almost certainly shooting in her direction due to her not knowing where the counselors office was. Jackie shook her head trying not to smile at the thought of it.

She found the counselors office without any problems. The hallway was very quiet. A few other students sat outside offices waiting for their appointments. Jackie knew the name of her counselor, Mr. Eric Navarro, but had no clue which office was his so she began to meander slowly down the hall, checking the name on every door carefully.

Motivational quotes hung everywhere she looked. _You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!_ read a picture of soccer ball and goal. There were also a lot of posters advertising different colleges. All of the posters had pictures of students reading books on a lawn on a nice day or in the library doing homework. They all looked extremely happy to be doing whatever they were doing but it all looked fake and posed.

When she reached the end of the hall she finally saw a door with Navarro inscribed on it. It was partially open so Jackie knocked twice and then entered.

Mr. Navarro was sitting at his desk, typing something on the computer. When he saw her enter, his head shot up and he smiled a wide smile, "Come in Ms. Carter!" Mr. Navarro was very young, much younger Jackie had expected. He appeared to be only a few years older than herself. He was Latino and had perfectly coiffed hair. Jackie wasn't sure what she had been expecting but it wasn't Mr. Navarro. "Do you prefer Jacqueline or something else?" the counselor wondered kindly as he began pulling out a file out of a nearby cabinet.

Jackie stood in the doorway, unsure she was in the right room for a moment, "Most people call me Jackie," she managed say. She realized she was staring and quickly entered the room, sinking into the chair in front of his desk.

Mr. Navarro's office was tiny and crammed. With a small desk, cabinet and two chairs, the room was at maximum capacity.

"Awesome!…" He said happily, flipping the file open and scribbling something down, "Alright Jackie so I'm so sorry I did not meet with you earlier. There usually are not a lot of mid semester senior transfer students so I think the front office forgot to tell me that I had another student. That is a total blunder on my part and I feel awful about it. Usually the counselors like to help transfer students with the transition but by this point I assume you are at least somewhat transitioned? How are you finding Midtown?" He questioned curiously.

"I like it," Jackie told him nodding, he waited for her to say more so she added lamely, "I'm doing fine."

"Oh good! I loved Midtown, I was a student here too," Mr. Navarro commented continuing to scan her file.

_When? Last year?_ Jackie wondered, but didn't say anything. Was it weird to call him Mr. Navarro if he was only a few years older than her? You had to have a degree to be a counselor though right? She forced herself to stop thinking about his age and focus on what he was saying.

"Anyways, I'm so glad you made this appointment and I can't wait to get to know you a little bit more," He told her happily, "So, you want to talk about college?"

Jackie nodded, "Yes I do and…" she trailed off, "I don't even know where to start."

Mr. Navarro nodded and looked down at the folder again, "Well, it looks like you've got good grades, mainly A's and B's. And your SAT test scores are pretty solid. Do you have any extra curricular activities?"

"Not at Midtown but I am doing an internship for _The Daily Bugle_," she informed him, trying to sound casual about the whole situation even though her heart skipped a beat when she said it because she was so excited about the internship.

Mr. Navarro's eyes widened, "Oh that was you that got the internship? That's awesome!" he told her seeming genuinely happy for her.

"Thank you," Jackie said appreciatively.

Mr. Navarro scribbled that in her file and then looked up and commented, "Getting in shouldn't be a problem for you, unless your grades take a sharp turn or something. I think it's more finding out where you want to go and doing the application, right?"

"Right," Jackie agreed.

"Do you know what you want to major in?" He questioned.

Jackie panicked slightly, "No… Not really. I mean not science or math but… I'm really liking working at _The Bugle_," she knew she wasn't committing to anything right now but thinking about majors freaked her out. What if she picked the wrong one and then was stuck doing something she hated for the rest of her life.

"So maybe journalism or English or something in that realm?" Mr. Navarro said, not seeming to notice her panic.

"Maybe…" she trailed off.

"Have you looked at any schools?" He asked her.

Jackie thought for a moment, "My Mom was a nurse at the UC San Francisco Medical Center so I've been on that campus a few times."

"But you haven't toured anywhere?" He wondered, his eyebrows perking up.

Jackie's heart sunk a little bit. She shook her head, "Um, no…" she stammered looking down at her hands which were folded in her lap.

"That's okay," He assured her. He didn't look concerned and Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. She kept expecting him to tell her that it was too late and that she would have to wait until next year to apply. "You still have time. You just need to be on top of getting everything done."

"I can do that," She told him confidently. She was more telling herself that she could do it more than she was telling him .

"Is there anywhere you'd like to tour?" He wondered.

"Empire State University?" She suggested. Peter had suggested it so she wanted to check it out. He waited for her to say more, so after a moment she added, "I think I'd like to stay in New York City if that's possible."

Mr. Navarro cleared his throat, "That is definitely possible. There are a lot of great schools here," he shuffled through some papers on the desk pulled out a list and handed it to Jackie. It was a list of all of the schools in New York City. Jackie scanned it, recognizing a few of the names on this list.

"Empire State University is a great school and with your grades and test scores, as long as you have a good essay and application that could be a great school for you. They are also usually pretty generous with financial aid." Jackie sat up a little straighter, feeling slightly more at ease with this information.

Mr. Navarro gestured for the sheet which Jackie returned to him and with a highlighter, highlighted a few of the schools, he handed the sheet back to Jackie, "I think you should also checking out NYU, Hunter College, Pace University, The New School, and Hofstra. NYU would be a great reach school. It's expensive but a wonderful and renowned school. Hofstra is on Long Island but not too far away. I would do some research and see if any of the schools speak to you," he paused and then added, "If you need more suggestions I would be happy to help."

"Alright," Jackie nodded.

He moved on, Jackie was glad that he wasn't talking too quickly so she was able to follow along fairly easily, "Okay so what I would suggest doing now is to start your Common App immediately. Most colleges use that Common App so you should be covered in applying to most places." He pulled out a packet of links and information about the Common App and handed it to Jackie who took it gratefully. She wanted as much information as she could get.

He went on, "You need to start your essay as soon as possible. People make it out to be a really big deal but its really only around a two page essay. The most important part of the essay is showing them who you are and giving your paper a voice. I will take care of your counselor recommendation but for most colleges you also need either one or two teacher recommendation letters so you can ask whoever you want for those." She wished that she had a notepad to write down all of the information he was giving her.

Mr. Navarro thought for a moment and seemed to go through a check list in his head. After a moment he went on, "Other than that because you are a little bit short on time I wouldn't necessarily worry as much about trying to visit every single school before you apply. You can just apply and visit after. Visiting is important though" he then remembered something and added, "Oh also your parents are free to come talk to me too if they have questions."

"I live with my older sister actually but I will make sure to let her know!" Jackie assured him.

"Sounds good Jackie," She was glad that Mr. Navarro had not questioned her further about her living situation, "The deadlines are coming up and this might sound like a lot of work but I have faith that you'll be able to get this all done."

"Thank you Mr. Navarro," Jackie said gratefully. She felt much more confident then she had before the meeting, like she had a plan. She slipped the packet and list into her backpack and sensing the meeting was over, she stood up.

"Anytime Jackie," Mr. Navarro told her standing as well, "I'm here is you need anything." Despite the office being so tiny, he walked her out of the office.

"Thanks!" Jackie repeated giving Mr. Navarro a kind smile before beginning to head down the hallway again.

"I'll see you around Jackie," He called after her.

When she got out of the counselors hallway, she took a deep breath. She had a lot to do but knew that if she worked hard she could get it all done. She would have to tell Maggie about all the things that she and Mr. Navarro had discussed. Without really thinking about where she was going, Jackie headed back downstairs towards the library. There was still about fifteen minutes left to lunch so she could go see how Peter and Mia were getting along.

When she reached the usual study room it was just Mia. Mia was eating an apple and taking notes for what appeared to be biology.

"Hey!" Jackie greeted her as she slid into the study room, closing the sliding door behind her.

Mia looked a little surprised but her surprise quickly turned into a smile. She beckoned Jackie, who took a seat across from her, in, "Hey! How did it go?" Mia asked putting down her pencil and looking slightly relieved to have a distraction from her notes.

"It went really well I think!" Jackie told her honestly.

"Which counselor do you have?"

"Mr. Navarro," Jackie informed her.

"The really young one?" Mia smirked.

"Yeah," Jackie nodded.

Mia sighed, "Oh lucky! I have Ms. Prince! She is like eighty and does not give a damn about anything anymore. I don't see her retiring until she dies," Mia said indifferently, causing Jackie to laugh, "Where did he suggest you look?"

"Umm…" Jackie said trying to recall, "He agreed with Empire State University being an option… and suggested NYU as my reach school and then suggested Hunter College, Pace University, The New School and Hofstra as target schools."

"Oh thats awesome! Those are all great schools," Mia approved taking a bite of her apple.

Jackie was glad that Mia seemed to have respect for all of the schools because Mia knew a lot more about college than Jackie did. Jackie got the sense that Mia had been ready to be out of high school and start college for a very long time.

"I'll have to do some research on the schools and then start my essay and then do the Common App and then get teacher recommendations and then eventually visit the schools… Oh wow that is actually a lot of things to do now that I'm thinking about it," Jackie felt the need to start planning immediately but forced herself to take a deep breath.

Her stress must have shown because Mia responded in a comforting voice, "Don't worry," Mia assured her, "The essay is pretty easy and you are good at English so it shouldn't be hard for you. The Common App is pretty straightforward and Maggie can help you out. And then for researching schools Peter and I can help."

"Thanks Mia. If you didn't have your life so together I would help you research your colleges too," Jackie joked, laughing a little bit.

"Thanks," Mia said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"Where is Peter by the way?" Jackie wondered, looking around the study room as if he was hiding under a chair. Jackie had noticed his absence when she had entered but hadn't commented on it assuming that he was in the bathroom or something. However now she noticed that his backpack and lunch bag were not in the room either.

"Oh he left about ten minutes ago," Mia said nonchalantly.

"What? Why?" Jackie asked quickly.

Mia shrugged, "We were talking and then he just got up and grumbled something about yearbook pictures or something and then walked out really fast. I don't know if I did something wrong or… I don't know…" Mia didn't seem hurt but Jackie was a little frustrated with Peter for leaving so suddenly.

"That's weird, I'm so sorry!" Jackie told Mia, feeling bad for Peter untimely departure. He hadn't mentioned anything about yearbook but Jackie was starting to notice that Peter often had to leave at weird times, like when they had been at Lucy's Coffee a week ago and he'd said something about Aunt May needing to be picked up.

Mia smiled remembering something and pulled something out of her bag, "He left these for you," she handed Jackie a packet of fruit snacks. Jackie smiled a little bit, shaking her head at Peter's thoughtfulness.

"I'm sorry Peter ran out," Jackie apologized again.

"Oh it's fine!" Mia shrugged, "We were having a nice talk before so it was just kind of random. I was just hoping I didn't do something wrong."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it wasn't you." Jackie promised. She decided it was best to change the subject, "Are you ready to watch some awful Halloween movies tomorrow?" She questioned. Tomorrow was Halloween and Mia was still coming over.

"Um… yeah!"

Jackie and Mia made plans for which movies they were going to watch for the rest of lunch. Jackie kept an eye out for Peter but he did not return.

When Jackie stopped by his locker after school he was not there and Mia informed her that he hadn't been in AP Bio either. Jackie did not panic but she was confused. Sometimes Peter was the most dependable and honest guy she had ever met but sometimes he was so distant and vague. There were several times where she had felt like Peter was not telling her the full story but she wasn't sure how to approach the subject.

_Where did you disappear too? _Jackie texted Peter as she walked to the subway to catch her train downtown.

He did not reply until she was already downtown and taking the elevator up to the top floor of _The Bugle_ building.

_Nowhere. Just had to deal with something_. he replied. Jackie reread the text over and over again trying to decipher what it meant.

Jackie furrowed her eyebrows in confusions and quickly typed out _What? _her hand hovered over the send button but she paused. Maybe there was a reason why Peter did not want to tell her. It could be something that he wasn't comfortable talking to her about. It did not seem like anything was seriously wrong so maybe she could let him tell her when he was ready. She did not like not knowing but when the elevator doors opened to the top floor, she quickly deleted the text and shoved her phone into her pocket.

The newsroom was bustling as always but as she stepped out of the elevator there was a weird energy that Jackie couldn't quite interpret. A group of reporters were watching a television monitor with intrigue. Other reporters were typing furiously away or talking loudly on the phone looking frustrated.

"This is ridiculous!" Jackie heard Jameson yelling from his office. Through the glass door of his office, Jackie could see a very red faced J. Jonah Jameson yelling and shaking his cigar at a short, timid looking reporter. "All ten of my crime reporters have no information about this damn fire? It happened a week ago! Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? Because if it is I'm not laughing."

The reporter was shaking but composed himself enough to comment back, "We are having some trouble getting information. All of the newspapers are, it's not just us! Besides the name of the building and it being arson we can't get anything. And the police won't tell us anything and… and…" he sputtered.

Jameson let out a frustrated groan, "Do I look like I care?" He yelled, "Just get me the story!" Jameson stood and the reporter quickly fled the room and terror.

Jackie saw Betty standing by a nearby TV monitor that was playing the news. Jackie made her way over to her in hopes of getting some sort of explanation.

"Jackie! There you are!" Betty greeted Jackie as she approached.

"Hey Betty," Jackie replied "What's going on?"

"Oh haven't you heard? There was another fire downtown about two and a half hours ago! It was another apartment building!" Betty said excitedly gesturing to the TV screen.

Jackie tensed. Another fire? One had been bad enough. Jackie shifted uncomfortably watching the TV monitor which was broadcasting footage of the fire. Flames enveloped the building as smoke rose. Without thinking, Jackie touched her left shoulder defensively. Her left shoulder had been especially burned after the crash and although her scars were covered by her clothes, Jackie suddenly felt very exposed.

She kept pushing back thoughts of the crash. Flashbacks of seeing blood all over the place just moments before the hood caught fire and screaming and being trapped, waiting for rescue and seeing the fire getting closer and trying to escape and the sensation of her skin burning began rushing back. Jackie shut her eyes and took a deep breath forcing herself to not think of the accident.

She instead decided to focus on the current fire, "Have they put it out yet?" Jackie wondered quietly, feeling very far away. Her head was spinning with worry.

"Yeah they put it out about an hour ago and everyone was fine" Betty informed Jackie, causing her to breathe a little easier, "They think it's arson again although nobody quite knows. All the witnesses are saying the building just kind of erupted with fire. There were no explosions or anything! Of course Jameson is blaming Spider-Man but he saved eleven or twelve people who were trapped in the building and no one died so no one actually thinks it was him. We've all tried telling Jameson but he is not convinced,"

"Oh," was all Jackie said.

Betty went on, "I think Jameson is more upset that nobody has been able to get the scoop on the first fire though. He is telling all the crime reporters that they need to talk to every possible source to get the story before any of the other papers do."

_The fire was put out. Your fine. _Jackie tried to convince herself. None of this felt right. There was someone out there setting fire to places and destroying lives and nobody could figure out who it was or how they were doing it. Reporters and police and investigators had come up with no information. Jackie shuddered. Nobody had died yet or been injured but if this continued it could no end well.

"It's just so weird!" Betty continued, "I mean New York has fires all the time but two back to back possible arsons in downtown? Its just so strange!"

Jackie just nodded unsure how to answer.

"Anyways," Betty shrugged, deciding to get on with it, "Robertson was looking for intern earlier so you should see if he still needs your help."

"Alright," Jackie agreed, thankful for the change of topic she quickly excused herself and made her way over to Robbie Robertson's office.

Robbie was a very kind and accomplished reporter and from the little time Jackie had spent with him, she really enjoyed him. He ranked very high at _The Daily Bugle_ and even though he was a close confidant of J. Jonah Jameson, he was much more approachable and reasonable and overall less brash then Jameson.

"Betty said you needed an intern?" Jackie questioned knocking on the door of Robbie's office.

Upon seeing her, Robbie motioned for her to come in. Although he was nearing sixty years old, Robbie was in extremely good shape. The only indicator that he was aging was his hair which had greyed. He had a lot of pictures of his wife and son hung around his office.

"Yes I do!" Robbie nodded, he frowned inspecting Jackie closely, "Oh…" he said sighed annoyed at himself, "What was your name again?"

"Jackie," she reminded him kindly.

"I'm so sorry," Robbie told her apologetically, "Senior moment."

"It's fine," Jackie assured him, "How can I help?"

"I need someone to fact check Chris Jackson's story on the governor's campaign. Chris is constantly getting dates and quotes wrong," Robbie grimaced at the thought of Chris before continuing, "Do you think you could do that for me?"

"Definitely," Jackie nodded, "When do you need it done by?"

"Would two hours be enough?" Robbie questioned.

"I'll get right on it," Jackie told him. Her sureness seemed to impress him as he shot her a supportive smile. Robbie held out a printed copy of the article which Jackie was to fact check. Jackie took it carefully and turned to leave the office.

"Thanks Jackie," Robbie told her appreciatively.

Jackie waited until she had left his office to grin about Robbie's apparent approval. She made her way over to one of the available computers and began looking over all of the dates and quotes in the article. As Robbie had predicated many of them were wrong and Jackie quickly began noting Chris's errors.

As Jackie worked, she couldn't help but watch as the crime reporters debated on motives for the fire and connections. They were huddled in a group by a nearby cubicle and were talking in hushed voices. From what Jackie could tell, apparently all any of the reporters knew so far were where the fires had taken place. Thus far they had been unable to get information on who's apartments the fires had started in and how. There were no current suspects on who had started the fire. Both times the arsonist had managed to escape with no witnesses seeing them.

One of the crime reporters, Danny Moore, made eye contact with Jackie and she quickly looked away realizing that she was not supposed to be listening to their conversation. It was too late though and he had already begun to march over to her. Jackie began to panic. She had heard a lot about Danny Moore from the other employees. He was a very big and tall man, who appeared to be about thirty years old. He was very intense and looked powerful and merciless. Jackie could understand why he was reporting on crime as by his physical appearance she couldn't imagine him reporting on anything apart from violence and lawbreaking.

"Who are you?" Moore demanded loudly in his deep voice as he reached Jackie. Due to the normal chaos of the room, nobody except for the crime reporters seemed to notice what was going on. The crime reporters seemed just as confused as Jackie but no one made an immediate move to help her out as they did not know why he was confronting her.

"Jackie," She squeaked nervously, "I'm intern."

Moore was hovering over her with his arms crossed over his chest. Jackie decided it was in her best for her to remain seated and keep the chair in between them. Standing might seem like she was trying to start a fight, which she certainly was not.

"Are you?" He seemed to not believe her for some reason.

Jackie quickly retrieved her ID badge and showed it to him, "Yes sir."

He snatched the badge from her and scanned it. He then looked her up and down once and handed her back her badge, still seemed suspicious, "Were you listening to our conversation?"

"No sir," Jackie lied trying to look especially innocence and then quickly added an alibi saying, "I'm fact checking an article for Chris Jackson," she gestured to the work in front of her for extra measure.

"Moore, come on," the short reporter that Jameson had been yelling at earlier appeared from behind Moore. Their height difference was almost laughable with Moore being twice as big as Jackie and the other reporter being a few inches shorter than her despite his bad posture. However, for some reason Moore seemed to shift uncomfortably when the short reporter gave him a wary look.

"Foswell you know that we can't have her spreading that we-" Moore began but the reporter, Foswell quickly cut him off. Jackie recognized the last name Foswell from when she had been researching articles from _The Bugle_ last week before her first day and identified Foswell to be Frederick Foswell.

"I know," Foswell said in a quiet but stony voice, "It's okay, she knows as much as the rest of us know. And I'm sure she knows not to go spreading what she's heard around. Right?" Foswell gave Jackie a look, with his eyebrows raised expectantly.

Jackie nodded meekly, still feeling very intimidated by Moore who was glaring at her as if he wanted her gone immediately.

Jackie did not understand why Foswell and Moore were making it seem like such a big deal that she had overheard them. From what she had gathered, the reporters knew pretty much nothing which meant that by overhearing them, she knew pretty much nothing. What were they so scared she was going to go spreading around?

"Moore! Foswell! Cut it out and get back over here!" Joy Mercado, the very beautiful and glamorous reporter called. She was blonde, tall and skinny. Betty complained about her a lot but Jackie got the feeling that she was just jealous that all of the male reporters both respected Joy and could never take their eyes off of her. Joy beckoned them over, "You are being way to paranoid! The girl is in high school, not a spy for _The Daily Globe_! She's doing her job, you should get over here and do yours."

Jackie shot Joy a thankful smile which Joy returned it with a wink.

Moore reluctantly backed down but gave Jackie one last menacing glance before turning around and returning to the group of reporters with Foswell by his side.

It had been such a strange day. First with Peter disappearing, then the second mystery fire and now Danny Moore wanted to kill her. She finished fact checking the article and returned it to Robbie in under an hour. Robbie gave her two other assignments which she finished promptly. Jackie couldn't help but feel that Danny Moore was watching her the entire time but she tried to ignore him.

When Jackie had finished both of the assignments, Robbie excused her and she caught the next train home.

Maggie and Elliot were carving pumpkins when she got home. They invited Jackie to join them but she was so exhausted after the long and unusual day she'd had that she just wanted to do her homework and go to bed. They understood and she quickly went to her room and changed into her pajamas. She thought about going and talking to Maggie about what she and Mr. Navarro had talked about in her college meeting but ultimately resolved to do it later when she wasn't so worn out.

Jackie did the minimum amount of homework to would get her through the next day which was thankfully a Friday. She'd almost completely forgotten that it was Halloween and that Mia and Peter were coming over. Peering out her window she saw that the light in Peter's room was off. This didn't necessarily mean anything but Jackie was still very perplexed by Peter's secrecy and disappearing act. She checked her phone again to see if Peter had texted her with some sort of explanation but was not surprised to see that she had no new messages.

Feeling unsettled and anxious, Jackie crawled into bed at nine thirty and fell asleep hoping to get a good nights sleep. Despite what she had hoped though, her exhaustion did not stop the nightmares and she tossed and turned all night, plagued by images of the fire from earlier.

* * *

**A/N:** Finally updating! Haha! I don't know if anyone is still interested in this story but some good news for anyone who is, is that I have actually planned out the whole story! That's right I've got pretty much every chapter planned out and know who the villains are and everything! I think this should make updating quite a bit easier as I won't be improving every time I open the word doc.

So yes, this story is still happening! Despite what you may think, I have not abandoned it!

This chapter may not be very interesting for those of you who are only here for cute Peter/Jackie moments but it introduces some important parts of the story to come and goes more into the college process and all that good stuff.

Originally this chapter included Halloween but then it just got so long that I decided to post it now and keep writing the Halloween chapter which (no promises as always) I would like to update soon.

What did you think of this chapter? Who do you think is behind the fires? Should Jackie be worried about Danny Moore? Tell me what your thinking!

Very belated shoutouts to **Nellie**,**The-Effulgent-One**, **pegasus spider**, **memo bonafide**, **Avalongirl55**, **gingerduchirules **and most recently **jesskalynn4**. Thanks so much for your reviews! I apologize for the long wait but I hope it is worth it!

Anyways reviews would make me smile like an idiot because I love validation so if you feel so inclined I would really appreciate it! :)


	8. Chapter 8: Dark Side of the Moon

"I'm just saying there are good movies and tv shows set in San Francisco too!" Jackie argued as she and Peter navigated their way through the busy school hallway, in the direction of Jackie's locker.

Everyone had just gotten out of their last Friday class and their was a palpable sense of excitement due to it also being Halloween. Jackie had been hearing about various parties in all of her classes but she was fine with just hanging out at her house.

Peter nodded in agreement as they snaked through the crowded hallway, "I never said there weren't but I think that there are more things set in New York," Peter clarified, "I bet for every good tv show or movie you name that is set in San Francisco there are ten that are just as good and set in New York."

Jackie wasn't really sure how their conversation about her chemistry class had turned into a debate about where tv shows were set but she was glad that everything seemed normal after the strangeness of the day before. She had opted out of telling Peter (or anyone else) about her confrontation with Danny Moore at _The Bugle _and, despite her desire to know where Peter had disappeared to, she not questioned him about it. Instead she had just filled him in on her meeting with Mr. Navarro and working with Robbie Robertson.

Jackie shook her head fervently in disagreement, "I have a tv show set in San Francisco that beats every possible show set in New York."

"Which show?" Peter questioned dubiously. They had reached the wing where Jackie's locker was and Peter held the door open for her.

"_Full House_!" Jackie answered confidently walking through the door, challenging Peter to think of something better.

"Okay, I will give you that one, _Full House_ is amazing…" Peter agreed following behind her begrudgingly.

"Ha!" Jackie cheered victoriously doing a fist pump.

Peter chuckled at her but was not accepting defeat and countered her saying, "_But_, New York has got _Seinfeld_, _How I Met Your Mother_ and _Friends_!" he offered easily, taking a few big steps to catch up with Jackie, "I mean come on you can't beat _Friends_!"

Jackie scoffed scanning the wall of lockers for hers, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"What?" Peter frowned what had elicited such a remark of disgust.

"Well _Full House_ is obviously better than _Friends_," Jackie stated as if it was fact, laughing at Peter. Jackie had finally found her locker and began to put in the combination. Jackie couldn't help but notice that when she and Peter were talking, it felt like they were the only two people in the entire hallway. Despite it being crowded and loud, Jackie hardly noticed as she was so focused on their conversation and Peter.

Peter leaned his shoulder on one of the lockers next to hers, watching her closely to see if she was she did not waver Peter couldn't help but laugh in amusement at her seriousness, "Um," he said trying to be careful with what he said, "that is very debatable."

"You seriously think _Friends_ is better than _Full House_?" Jackie asked him in disbelief, pausing from getting the books she needed out of her locker.

"I hate to break it to you but I think most people would pick _Friends_ over _Full House_," Peter told her honestly. He could not get over how passionate she seemed about their conversation and was fighting back a smile.

Jackie furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, "Really?" she obviously was not convinced by Peter's claim, "I don't think so," Jackie shrugged in opposition pulling out the books she needed to work on Government and Spanish for the weekend and retrieving one of her notebooks and storing it inside her shoulder bag.

"_Friends_ is one of the most popular tv shows of all time," Peter stated.

"Okay, but _Full House_ has John Stamos!" when Peter did not seem to react to this, Jackie repeated, "John Stamos!"

Peter laughed, "Yeah, saying John Stamos again with emphasis doesn't make it a better tv show!" He continued, "_Full House_ is just the same plot over and over again."

"It is not!" Jackie gasped. She scanned her locker one last time for anything she would possibly need for the weekend before shutting her locker. Without vocalizing anything, both started heading in the direction of Mia's locker.

"Yes it is," Peter disagreed, "Every episode one of the daughters does something wrong and gets caught and then talks to Danny, Jesse or Joey and they make up and everything is better."

"How rude!" Jackie huffed imitating Stephanie from _Full House. _Peter laughed at her very accurate impersonation which caused Jackie to smile. Deciding to change subjects she asked, "You're coming over later right?" She was really asking as much as she was confirming which is why his answer surprised her.

"Uhh…" Peter hesitated, "I'll have to see."

"Peter it's Halloween!" Jackie insisted gesturing to a freshman boy who was standing nearby them dressed up like a clown. Jackie, Mia and Peter had all opted out of wearing costumes. Mia had painted her nails to look like spiderwebs and Jackie had worn a skeleton ring and had a black and orange hair tie but that was the most they had dressed up, "You have to! Mia is coming over and we're going to pass out candy and watch dumb horror movies."

"And that sounds like a lot of fun but…" Peter trailed off.

"But what?" Jackie asked looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm just going to have an early night I think," he said giving Jackie a weak smile. Jackie noticed how tired he looked and nodded slowly. Again, she wanted to bad to question him but decided that if she was not telling him the full story about Danny Moore and her anxiety of fires, Peter deserved to have his privacy too.

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly, "But you are going to miss some solid movies!"

"I think I'll survive," Peter nodded pretending to be very stoic.

"If you change your mind…" Jackie trailed off hopefully.

Peter smiled but didn't answer which signaled to Jackie that he had already made up his mind.

Mia was standing by her locker, ready and waiting for Jackie and Peter and beamed when she saw the pair walking towards her. The hallway had cleared out significantly. Candy wrappers littered the floor as many of the teachers and students had given out pieces of candy during class. Mia and the student council had tried to decorate but most of the decorations had ended up on the floor too.

"Hey Mia," Peter greeted Mia. At lunch a few hours prior, neither of them had mentioned Peter's early absence the day before. They had also talked about something other than Biology so Jackie was glad that they seemed to be getting along.

"Hey," Mia smiled, her curly hair bouncing.

"_Friends_ or _Full House_?" Jackie demanded, causing Peter to roll his eyes.

"Oh that's easy, _Friends_," Mia answered simply and then wondered, "Why?"

"See!" Peter told Jackie gloatingly.

"You're joking!" Jackie said in astonishment, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "You guys are just biased because your New Yorkers" she decided.

"Jackie thinks _Full House _is better than _Friends_," Peter explained to Mia.

"Oh," Mia said with an understanding nod, "_Full House _is great but _Friends_ is in a league of its own."

"That's what I'm saying!" Peter smirked giving Mia a high five.

"This is an outrage!" Jackie informed them, being deliberately dramatic.

"Cool it Frisco," Peter warned shooting Jackie a boyish grin that unintentionally made Jackie blush.

"You did not just say Frisco," Jackie gasped pretending to be offended, causing Mia to giggle.

"San Fran?" Peter questioned innocently, his brown eyes widening.

"No!" Jackie shook her head trying to be serious, but the corners of her mouth crept up revealing a smile. She and Peter made eye contact and for a moment she forgot that Mia was there with them. Time seemed to stop, but just for a moment. Mia smirked and both Jackie and Peter were reminded of where they were.

"Well I better…" Peter ran a hand through his hair and took a few steps backwards, "I better…" he trailed off.

"Yeah and we better…" Jackie understood, turning to Mia who nodded, still smirking.

"Okay then I'll-" Peter started.

"See you later?" Jackie finished.

"Yeah I'll see you later," Peter concluded turning to go.

"You got it dude!" Jackie called to him, now imitating Michelle's catch phrase from _Full House_.

Peter shook his head laughing and called back "Bye Jackie, Bye Mia."

"Bye Peter," Mia said back.

Jackie watched him disappear around a corner, before turning back to Mia who was giving Jackie a knowing look.

"What is that look?" Jackie asked Mia in confusion.

"What look?" Mia inquired, acting like she did not know what Jackie was talking about.

"That look you were just giving me!" Jackie insisted.

"There's no look!" Mia shrugged and began to head towards the door to escape further questioning. As they reached the exit, Mia asked, "Peter's not coming?"

"Nope, he said he needed a night in or something," Jackie explained looking to the corner Peter had just left from, "I don't know, he'll probably just edit his pictures and do biology homework but I figure if that's how he wants to spend his Halloween, so be it."

"Fine by me," Mia shrugged, "That means more candy for me then."

It was gloomy out but it fit the Halloween mood. A gust of wind swept through Jackie's hair, causing her to shiver. It was the coldest day yet and grey clouds hung in the sky. The trees were almost all barren apart from a few leaves which refused to give up and hung onto the trees for dear life. Jackie shoved her hands into her pockets and she could feel her cheeks becoming red as the cold air numbed her skin.

Jackie hastened to catch up with Mia who was a few paces in front of her and seemed unperturbed by the weather. They fell in tandem as they left the schools campus which by this point had been practically deserted.

"Oh my god," Jackie remembered smiling as they walked through the neighborhood admiring the festive houses, "Wait until you see the house."

"Why?"

"Well…" Jackie explained, "Apparently Elliot is super into Halloween."

"What?" Mia laughed in surprise.

"Yeah," Jackie nodded, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing, "he decorated the whole house last night! I was totally shocked when I walked outside." She and Peter had laughed for about five minutes straight.

"Really? I wouldn't have pegged him for the Halloween type," Mia commented.

"I know I didn't either," Jackie agreed before explaining, "I don't really understand where he got all of the decorations but Maggie said because they used to live in an apartment downtown he could never decorate the outside so he went a little crazy this year."

"Oh my god that is precious," Mia sighed.

When they reached the house Mia stared in amazement at the lengths that Elliot had gone to decorate the house. Jackie had been so distracted the night before that she had not noticed that Maggie and Elliot had gotten thirteen pumpkins. As a preschool teacher, Maggie was pretty good at crafts and with their combined efforts, Elliot and Maggie had created some very artistic and a few very creepy jack o lanterns that had been placed all over their steps and porch. Elliot had somehow gotten skeletons on the roof and had made them look they were trying to escape and climb away. He'd decorated the pillars of the porch with lots of cotton spiderwebs with large fake spiders. In the little garden area that they had, he had set up fake graves. The decorations were pretty classic but the sheer amount of Halloween themed things in such a small area was what made it so impressive.

Jackie had a feeling that now that they had a basement, the number of Halloween decorations would probably grow and was interested to see what would happen next year.

"Wow you weren't kidding," Mia said in awe, "He did this all in one night?"

"The guy really likes Halloween," Jackie concluded, still astonished by all that Elliot had accomplished.

The two girls laughed as they entered the house, ready to start their festivities.

* * *

Peter always liked Halloween.

He had a lot of good memories from it.

He remembered his mom making him a _Star Wars_ Jedi costume when he was five years old. Peter had thought Jedi's were the coolest possible warriors and had worn his Jedi costume for weeks before Halloween, even sleeping in it when his mom would let him, because he loved his costume so much.

He remembered his dad taking him trick-or-treating and the two of them cheering when one of their neighbors gave him a king sized candy bar.

After his parents had died, his Uncle Ben had taken him trick-or-treating and had let him stay up extra late watching Halloween movies and every year Aunt May made Peter's favorite pumpkin bread.

Now however, Halloween was very strange. He didn't need to dress up. He spent a good portion of his life being someone else and dressing up.

For Spider-Man, it was hard to tell what was good and what was bad. With so many people dressed up, Peter had a more difficult time differentiating who was in a costume and who was a felon. There were so many children and parents out trick-or-treating or heading to parties, that all Peter wanted was to protect them from those who tried to take advantage of the holiday.

Peter had already seen several people dressed up as Spider-Man and every time he saw one of the costumes he couldn't help but smile. It was crazy to think that maybe people, especially children, saw him the way he had seen Jedi's when he was five; as a hero.

On Halloween, Peter could walk the streets of New York as Spider-Man and not be arrested or have people swarm him. Although he knew that he did not have the best vantage point from the street he wanted to try it, just to see what it would be like as there was no other day of the year that he could do this. So, just because he could, he was currently walking up Sixth Avenue in the Village Halloween Parade.

The sun had just gone down and it was beginning to get colder outside. The street was crowded with all of the people participating and watching the parade. In front of Peter was a large float celebrating Dia de los Muerto. The float was covered in traditional skeleton figurines and honored people who had died recently. Behind him there were a bunch of people dressed as zombies doing the dance to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.

Peter was in some sort of assorted costume group that were just waving and having a good time. He'd swung into the group a few blocks ago and no one had seemed to notice or care. On the sidelines people cheered. As a kid, Peter had always wanted to be in a parade so he wanted to enjoy the experience while he could.

"Nice Spidey costume man," A man next to him with a thick New York accent complimented. The man was dressed as a the Mad Hatter and appeared to be in his mid twenties. Peter grinned inside his mask. Compliments from New Yorkers were rare as they were fairly hard to impress so Peter was extremely flattered.

"Thanks," Peter said in a low disguised voice, nodding in appreciation, "Merry unbirthday to you."

Knowing that it was time to get going and that should get back to protecting the city and also wanting to impress the man further, Peter shot one of his web shooters at a nearby tall building. He wrapped his hand around the web and pulled himself forward. He heard a few gasps as he swung over the crowd and once he reached the building, he looked back for just a second to see the man looking at him in awe and he smirked. Peter continued to scale the building until getting to the roof and giving the crows a small wave before disappearing.

Without even really thinking about where he was going, Peter made his way to Norman Osborn's penthouse apartment in Manhattan in uptown. Although he knew he was being selfish because of his personal agenda against Oscorp, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were up to something and possibly had something to do with the fires.

It was crazy to him how no news sources had been able to uncover anything about the fires and the police were essentially clueless. No one had been able to determine exactly where in the buildings or how the fires had started.

Peter wasn't exactly sure what watching Norman Osborn's apartment would do but since the last fire, along with watching Oscorp especially close, he'd been watching Norman Osborn's apartment.

From what he knew, Osborn was very sick from an apparently incurable disease but despite his illness he was still running the company. Peter had not seen Mr. Osborn since he began watching the apartment. He'd never seen the man leave his apartment and wasn't even positive that Mr. Osborn was inside the giant penthouse. All of the curtains to the whole penthouse remained drawn no matter what time of day it was and very rarely did the lights turn on.

The only thing that suggested to Peter that Osborn might be inside was that throughout the day, important looking Oscorp employees in suits, looking very suspicious would come and go. They were always carrying briefcases and looked like a mixture of spies and lawyers. If they were in a group of two or more they never talked so Peter could not overhear their conversations and the walls to the penthouse were soundproof.

Oscorp was very good at covering things up. The company had regained peoples trust after the Dr. Connors incident and had successfully distanced themselves from the situation. To the average person, Dr. Connors had just gone crazy and tried to turn every one into a lizard. Peter knew the truth though. He knew that Oscorp had pressured Connors into trying the unfinished DNA drug tested on humans which had led to Connors trying the formula on himself. Although Peter knew it was best that Connors was locked up after trying to turn everyone into lizard creatures, but he also pitied the man as the company had gotten away scot-free.

As per usual, nothing note worthy was happening at the Osborn estate. Peter watched for awhile. Not surprisingly, even on Halloween night the men were entering and exiting. In the thirty minutes that Peter watched, he witnessed six men enter the building and three different men exit. He wished he knew what was happening and if the weird unfounded instinct was right in not trusting Oscorp.

Peter's phone buzzed and he quickly whipped out his phone. He'd managed to program his phone to give him police updates. It wasn't the police though. It was Jackie.

She had texted him saying: _You are still welcome to come over if you want!_

_Maybe later! _he quickly thought of an excuse and typed, _I'm not feeling super great. Headache. I think I might be sick. Gonna go to sleep pretty soon. _

Sickness was always a pretty sound excuse. He usually went for a headache. Stomach issues or fevers needed proof. Headaches were easy and there was no way to prove if he had one or not.

_Lame. But feel better! _Jackie replied. Peter imagined her, sitting in her living room with Mia and watching movies and wanted nothing more to be there, spending time with her. Peter loved being Spider-Man but it was times like this where he wished that it wasn't his responsibility and was more of a hobby.

Peter groaned shoving his phone back into his backpack.

Peter still felt guilty for lying to Jackie about what he was doing. Especially after he'd left Mia during lunch yesterday to help with the fire and then lied to Jackie about where he'd gone. Jackie being so understanding made it even harder.

He knew that Jackie wanted answers that he couldn't give her. Earlier when they had been talking, he had practically seen her force herself to not ask him about where he'd disappeared to the day before. He sensed that working at _The Bugle_ had made her more inquisitive but that she was still very kind and generous. She was giving him space and time to tell her the truth but he didn't know if he would ever be able to.

He wasn't sure what would happen when she ran out of patience, but for the time being decided to run with it.

Peter's phone buzzed again. This time it was an NYPD update reporting a fight in a bar a few blocks away that had gotten out of hand. Although he still wanted to find out what Norman Osborn was up to, he knew it was his duty to help solve immediate problems too and so he swung of in the direction of the fight.

What Peter didn't know was that nearby, someone else was watching Norman Osborn's estate. Someone who hated Osborn and Oscorp even more than Peter did and wanted revenge more than anything.

* * *

The credits began to roll on the second horror film Mia and and Jackie watched.

"That's it?" Mia frowned at the screen, "That wasn't even scary!"

"No it was just kind of gross," Jackie agreed taking a handful of popcorn.

"That girl getting stabbed with the axe at the end was just kind of unnecessary," Mia grimaced remembering the scene from the movie.

"And it had no plot," Jackie shook her head, "I think we need to pick a better movie."

The girls had watched two Halloween/horror themed movies and had eaten an insane amount of candy and popcorn. Trick-or-treaters had been coming and going since about five p.m. Dressed as princesses and pirates and witches and zombies, they all seemed so excited. Elliot had bought every single type of candy known to humankind and all king sized bars. The kids would cheer whenever Jackie pulled out the candy bowl and tell her that they had "the best candy in the neighborhood." She made a mental note to tell Elliot this as she had a feeling he would be very proud. Many parents had also appraised the yard, commenting on the decorations.

It was getting late and the time between hearing the doorbell ring for trick-or-treaters was becoming longer and longer as more parents called it a night for their kids. However their were still a few stragglers.

Elliot had Maggie had gone out to a Halloween party, leaving the house to Jackie and Mia. It was a costume party and the couple had gone all out, dressing as Mary Poppins and Bert from _Mary Poppins._ They had both perfectly replicated the costumes from the movie. Elliot had even gone as far as to put dirt on his face to look like the chimney sweep character and had adopted an awful cockney accent to imitating Dick Van Dyke. According to Maggie, Elliot had organized the costume and somehow Jackie was not surprised.

"I'm thinking _Hocus Pocus_ next?" Mia suggested, and Jackie's eyes lit up.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jackie nodded in excitement.

The doorbell rang and a single voice outside chirped "Trick-or-treat!"

Jackie quickly stood, wiping popcorn crumbs off of herself and began heading to the door, "Set up the movie!" Jackie instructed to Mia who stood and began looking for the DVD.

Jackie opened the door and looked down to see a tiny Spider-Man. When the miniature sized hero took of the mask, Jackie was somewhat surprised to see a blonde girl who appeared to be about seven or eight. She had seen several young boys dressed up as Spider-Man but this was the first girl. She smiled widely, feeling oddly proud of the little girl.

"Hello!" Jackie greeted warmly as she reached for the bowl of candy placed next to the door, she offered the candy bowl up to the little girl, "Take any two that you want!" Despite having a lot of trick-or-treaters, the bowl was still very full due to the excessive amount of candy Elliot had purchased.

"Thanks," the girl grinned happily as she began to shift through the bowl.

Jackie looked up for the first time to wave to the girls parents but was surprised when she saw Flash standing at the bottom of the porch, looking very out of place. He was wearing a Midtown hoodie and had his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Flash?" Jackie wondered, even though she knew it was him.

"Oh…" Flash mumbled, seeming like he didn't know quite what to do, "Hey Jackie."

"Hey…" Jackie trailed off. He seemed so different out of school, less hostile. Without his friends and in Jackie's front yard, he didn't have any power. She hadn't forgotten how he'd treated Peter on her first day of school. How he'd tried to intimidate her. But looking at him now, he looked so alone.

"Happy Halloween," Jackie offered politely.

"Happy Halloween," He repeated nodding slowly and not making eye contact.

Jackie was unsure of what else to say. She looked down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, uncomfortably and Flash cleared his throat. The girl dressed as Spider-Man was still trying to pick her candy bars out of the bowl.

There was an awkward silence and after a few seconds, Flash made the first move, making his way up the stairs, hesitantly, like he wasn't sure if Jackie would yell at him or if Peter would come out of no where and pin him to the wall again.

"This is my little sister, Katie," Flash said walking up behind his sister and placing his hands on her shoulders, "Hurry up and pick your candy kid," He said giving her shoulders a light squeeze. Katie glared up at him, annoyed at him rushing her. However it was obvious that she adored him, "Katie, I go to school with Jackie," Flash said tentatively. Katie paused for a moment to look Jackie up and down before going back to look for her candy.

"Nice to meet you Katie," Jackie smiled. Katie returned the smile, finally deciding on a king sized Twix and Kit-Kat. "I love your costume," Jackie complimented.

"Thank you!" Katie recited.

"Spider-Man is her favorite," Flash commented.

"You like him too Eugene," Katie pointed out, "You have a poster of him in your room!" Jackie watched Flash turn bright red as Katie used his real name and revealed that he liked Spider-Man. Jackie had known that Flash probably wasn't his real name but hearing him called Eugene and seeing him with his sister really humanized him.

"He seems like a pretty cool guy," Jackie agreed earnestly, trying not to laugh.

"Hey Katie, go check out the decorations down there, ok? I just need to tell Jackie something really quick," Flash said pointing to the bottom of the stairs where a bunch of Jack-o-Lanterns were set up.

"Ok," Katie shrugged running down to the bottom of the steps to look at the decorations. Jackie was confused and surprised by this and was a little nervous to see what Flash had to say. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on the doorframe, trying to seem casual.

Once Katie was out of earshot, Flash cleared his throat and his eyes met Jackie's, "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for being such an ass to you on your first day" Flash sounded very genuine. Jackie's eyes widened a little bit not hiding her surprise, "It's just- I'm just- I've got some stuff going on and up until a little while ago, Parker was my favorite punching bag and I'd had a bad morning and I took it out on you both. It wasn't cool of me but I'm working on it," he took a deep breath after he finished and waited for her to say something.

It was quiet for a few moments as Jackie processed what Flash had "Thanks Flash," Jackie accepted, letting her arms drop from defensively folded over her chest to her sides, "I really appreciate you apologizing."

"I've been meaning to apologize for a while," He admitted, "I'm sorry it took so long,"

"Better late then never, although its probably Peter that you should be apologizing to more than me" Jackie informed him honestly.

"Yeah I know," Flash agreed, sounding guilty.

She looked behind Flash to see that Katie is now inspecting the fake graves Elliot had set up in the garden, "Katie's really cute," Jackie told him, gesturing to Katie with her head.

Flash turned to look at Katie before nodding and smiling widely, "Yeah, she's the best," he told Jackie honestly, "My dad was supposed to take her out tonight but he got drunk and fell asleep so I got roped into it," he said it like it was no a big deal but Jackie's eyes widened at his admission. She wanted to say something but couldn't seem to formulate a sentence in her mind. Flash realized that he may have said too much and took a step backward, "Sorry… umm… I better get going. We've still got a few houses to hit," He said turning to leave.

Jackie opened her mouth to say something but before she could, Mia appeared her side, "Hey I got the movie set up, what's taking so long?"

Hearing a new voice, Flash turned around. Seeing Mia he stopped, looking her up and down slowly, "Hey…" He trailed off, looking directly at her, trying to place her, "Maya?" he finally decided with a questioning tone.

"Mia," Mia corrected and then matter of factly stated, "You used to cheat off me in English freshman year. We have Spanish together."

Flash looks down in embarrassment, "Right… _Mia_," he makes eye contact with Mia again before genuinely apologizing, "I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine," Mia shrugged, not seeming to mind his slip.

"I'm going to a party later, at Sally Avril's… if you are interested," He offered.

Mia and Jackie exchanged looks and without saying anything both knew the answer, "I think we're good," Mia answered, "right Jackie?"

"Yeah," Jackie nodded in agreement, appreciating Flash's gesture, "Thanks though."

"Ok, I'll see you at school Monday," Flash turned again, sweeping Katie up in his arms as he exited. She giggled happily and offered him a bite of the Twix bar she had already begin eating. He took half of it and before disappearing to the next house giving both Jackie and Mia a last wave.

Once he was out of ear shot, Jackie turned to Mia whose eyebrows were arched and her head was slightly tilted, "What was that all about?" Mia wondered.

"He apologized to me for the first day of school," Jackie explained taking a deep breath and heading inside, Mia followed behind her, "I told him he should apologize to Peter not me."

"Yeah he should, it hasn't been as bad recently but Flash used to torment Peter," Mia agreed collapsing onto the couch.

"I just don't get it, why would he torment Peter?" Jackie questioned taking a seat next to Mia.

Mia let out a small laugh, "Have you seen pictures of Peter before last year?"

"Not really, why?" Jackie didn't know what Peter's that had to do with anything.

Mia looked around, as if Peter was going to appear out of nowhere before talking in a hushed voice, "Peter went through a crazy transformation. It happened practically over night."

"Mia you don't have to whisper, I'm the only one here!" Jackie informed her.

Mia cleared her throat and talked slightly louder, "One day Peter was a dweeby science guy with bad posture, skin and giant glasses and the next he was this tall mysterious outsider guy. I swear people didn't recognize him for a while."

"He's still a dweeb though," Jackie mumbled grinning a little bit.

Mia didn't hear Jackie's comment comment and continued, "Flash and his friends picked on him because he couldn't fight back. Then one day on the basketball court, Peter just kind stood up to him. Flash couldn't get the ball out of his hand and then Peter dunked over him and broke the glass on the backboard. It was intense and they both got in a ton of trouble. Nobody knew how Peter had gotten so strong all of a sudden!"

"The basketball incident," Jackie nodded, remembering Peter mentioning that on her first day of school. Jackie couldn't imagine Peter enduring bullying from Flash and all of Flash's friends. He must have been so lonely. Now he seemed so self-assured. He never seemed to worry about his image or bullies. Jackie looked over at Peter's house. The light in the living room was on but all of the others were dark. She didn't want Peter to be alone. She wanted to make sure that he was okay.

"I'm going to go run and give Peter some candy," Jackie said standing suddenly and heading to the nearby closet to grab a jacket, "I feel bad that he's sick on Halloween and all," Jackie explained lamely as she put on one of Maggie's warm jackets and then offering, "You can start _Hocus Pocus_ if you want."

"It's fine I'll wait," Mia shrugged, watching Jackie closely. Mia's knowing look from earlier began to cross her face again but this time Jackie ignored it.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Jackie told her, grabbing a handful of candy of the way out and shoving it in her pocket.

Jackie shivered as she walked across the street. The dark clouds in the sky covered the moon, making it even darker outside and threatened rain. Everyone seemed to have retreated back inside as it was fairly quiet on the street aside from the distant sounds of cars.

Jackie walked up the stoop to the Parkers front porch and tentatively knocked on the door.

"I'm sorry, we've run out of candy!" Jackie heard May yell from inside the house.

"May?" Jackie called through the door, "It's Jackie!"

She could hear scrambling from inside and then the door burst open, "Hello Jackie," May welcomed Jackie warmly. May looked exhausted and was still wearing her nursing scrubs, "I'm sorry if I look so messy, I just got home from the hospital a few minutes ago," she explained, "How can I help you though? I'm assuming you didn't come for trick-or-treating?"

"No," Jackie laughed and then dug into her coat pocket and pulled out some candy, "I just wanted to come offer Peter some candy."

"Is he home?" May wondered, looking to the stairs in curiosity.

"He told me he had a headache," Jackie reported what Peter had texted her earlier.

"Huh, I could have sworn…" May trailed off and then surprised Jackie by yelling, "PETER?" the house was silent. Both May and Jackie waited but it was obvious Peter wasn't coming, "I'm sorry Jackie, I don't think he's home," May apologized looking very sorry and a little bit concerned.

Peter had lied to her. He'd told her he wanted and early night and that he had a headache and he wasn't home. He had lied to her. Why had he lied? What was he doing? Where was Peter?

"Oh," Jackie nodded trying not to sound hurt or look worried. She notice May watching her carefully and then pretended to have a realization,

"Of course!" Jackie struggled to come up with an excuse for Peter, "Oh I just remembered he said he had to… meet up with… someone for a group project. It's a huge project due on Monday and he was freaking out so he had to work on it today which sucks but I understand. I just totally forgot"

Jackie knew her lie about Peter needing to work on a group project was weak but at least was something.

"Right," May said, obviously not believing Jackie but accepting it and not questioning her further, "That's too bad. He would probably much rather be spending time with you tonight."

"Could you give him a few of these to him and… uhh… tell him I'll see him later," Jackie handed four of the king sized candy bars to May who took them and nodded.

"I will," She agreed and then comfortingly said, "I'm sorry he's not here Jackie. Peter has a knack for vanishing when you want him."

"Yeah," Jackie looked down at her feet. She wasn't even angry at Peter, she was just disappointed that he felt like he couldn't be honest with her. It was his lying that made Jackie not want to tell him about things like Danny Moore, "I'll see you later May."

"Happy Halloween," May offered warmly.

"Happy Halloween," Jackie said giving May a kind smile before turning and heading back home.

When she got back to her house, Mia was still sitting on the couch and asked her expectantly, "Did you see Peter?"

For a moment, Jackie thought about telling Mia that Peter hand't been there and that he had lied to Jackie about where he was and for some reason it hurt Jackie's feelings more than it should. But when she finally spoke Jackie lied, "Yeah."

"How's he doing?" Mia questioned.

"Fine," Jackie sighed and then quickly changed the subject announcing, "Let's watch _Hocus Pocus_!"

"Finally," Mia agreed grabbing the remote and pressing play.

As the movie started, Jackie tried to push away the hurt. She shouldn't let it bother her. It was Peter's life and Peter's choice not to tell her that he was going out. Questions whirled through her brain, Did he not trust her? Why didn't Peter just tell her the truth? Was he hurt? Was she being overdramatic? She tried so hard to make it not personal and not blame herself, but it hurt. She knew it was stupid because she'd known Peter for such a short time, but they'd connected.

She wanted to be someone that Peter could confide in.

She wanted to tell Peter everything.

She wanted it to be like in the hallway earlier, when it felt like she and Peter were the only people in the hallway even though they'd been surrounded by people.

Jackie wanted to help Peter as much as he had already helped her.

She just didn't know how.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm finally done with school so cross your fingers that I'll be able to update more!

Please let me know what you think of this chapter! I'd love to have a few more reviews than chapter!

That being said, thanks for the reviews **The-Effulgent-One**, **Nellie** and **Izaria**! I also really appreciate all of the likes and follows! But reviews make me sooooooo sooooooo sooooo happy!

Next chapter has some drama and mystery and should be really good so let me know if you are excited!


	9. Chapter 9: Warning Sign

"Peter no!" Jackie protested, shaking her head and covered her face with her hands as Peter pointed his camera at her.

"Come on!" Peter begged. Just a few moments before he had been inconspicuously taking some candid photos of Jackie. However, she'd noticed after the flash had accidentally gone off and was now protesting, "Aunt May just found one of Uncle Ben's old cameras and she gave it to me and I'm testing it out!"

The two were in Peter's living room. Jackie was sitting on a couch by the window, working on her college essay, while Peter had finished all of his homework and was now extremely bored.

"Peter I'm not doing anything right now. I'm just sitting here working! I need to get this draft into Mr. Navarro by Tuesday and it will be such a boring picture." Jackie whined.

"But the lighting is so perfect!" Peter told her hopefully.

"Fine," Jackie sighed and then threatened, "You better make me look good though."

"That won't be hard," Peter informed her quietly.

"What?" Jackie wondered, sure that she had misheard him.

Peter didn't answer her but felt his cheeks burn a little bit and quickly used his camera to cover his face. Jackie watched him for a moment deciding if she should question him further before she turned back to her work and continued typing.

Jackie had chosen to write about the car crash and her mother for her college essay. She wasn't hoping to get the pity of the admissions office or tell them what they wanted her to hear, it was just truly and event that had changed how she looked at the world. Before the crash she probably still would have written about her mother and how growing up without a father, her mom had always provided and cared for her. Now, although she did not want the crash to define her, she was beginning to realize she would never be the girl that she was before her mother died.

The camera flashed again and Jackie glared at Peter who gave her an innocent smile. She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes but took the picture.

Jackie was about to go back to working when she saw something out of the corner of her eye and shuddered, "Oh my god!" she jumped up from suddenly, taking a few steps away from the table.

"What? Jackie are you okay? What did you see?" Peter asked urgently, quickly standing up worriedly and rushing over to see if she was okay while also looking around for anything suspicious, "What wrong?"

Jackie looked at him like he was crazy, "Peter I'm fine!" she assured him quickly, surprised and flattered by his reaction, "There's a spider on the coffee table that surprised me! I'm fine!" she repeated pointing to the table where a fat black spider was now crawling over her bag.

Peter physically relaxed, letting the tension slip from his arms, but was still a little on edge at the thought of Jackie being in danger. Peter's greatest fear was of people—especially the people he cared about—getting hurt.

Turning to her her grinned, "You're scared of spiders?" He almost could not handle the irony of the situation.

"I'm not _scared_ of spiders!" Jackie replied indignantly, still watching the spider which had now crossed over her backpack and was heading for one of Peter's books.

"You yelled 'Oh my god' and ran when you saw it," Peter pointed out, not quite believing her and watching her eyes follow the spider in amusement.

"Okay but I'm not _scared _of it," Jackie reiterated, "I'm fine with them from afar and I think they are interesting and important to the eco-system of life and all that. I just think that it can have its space and I can have mine. As long as it keep its distance I'm fine."

Peter gave her skeptical look.

"I'm not scared of the spider!" Jackie snapped tearing her eyes away from the spider and turning to Peter, "Can you just get it?"

"Sure," Peter nodded. Grabbing the book that the spider was currently crawling on he went outside and let the spider on to a bush by the porch. He watched it for a few moments as it scurried around.

Peter had always found spiders interesting, but now being so associated with spiders, he felt a strange affinity towards them. Shooting the spider one last glance, Peter headed back inside.

Jackie was waiting for him and smiled when he reappeared, "I should have known you were the kind of guy that would go out of his way to save things—even spiders," Jackie laughed.

"I guess I like saving things," Peter shrugged, hiding his smile from Jackie.

She had no clue how out of his way he was willing to go to save things.

Jackie went back to working on her paper and Peter went back to taking pictures. After a few minutes of working, Jackie began to get distracted though. She still hadn't talked to Peter about what had happened on Halloween and still really wanted to know what was going on, however she didn't want to sound too needy or combative.

"Hey Pete," she finally wondered aloud.

"Yeah?" He asked looking up from his camera and meeting her eyes.

"What do you do?" She blurted out.

"What?" Peter questioned, not understanding her question.

"I mean…" Jackie tried to collect her thoughts, "What do you do after school?"

"Homework," Peter answered immediately.

Jackie sighed, "Well what do you do after you do homework?"

"I don't know," Peter asked her suspiciously, "Why?" He wasn't sure why she was asking but he was not about to let her know what he was really doing when he wasn't with her.

Jackie knew that this wasn't going well and that he probably wasn't going to tell her anything she didn't already know but she was going to keep trying,"It's just… I see you at the times that we schedule to meet and at school but other than that you are nowhere to be found. And I don't know what you do."

"I'm just busy Jackie," Peter told her, not making eye contact with her and looking back down at his camera, trying to appear busy, "You know college and school and stuff. I don't '_do_' anything."

Jackie was beginning to get annoyed, "But on Halloween you said you were going to stay in because you had a headache and then when I went over to your house you weren't there," she admitted.

Peter froze, "You went over to my house?"

"Yeah" Jackie nodded, knowing that she'd caught Peter in his lie, "May opened the door for me and she told me that you vanish a lot," she noticed that she was beginning to sound accusatory and softened,"One moment you are here and the next you are gone and I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it Jackie," Peter told her shortly.

"Fine," Jackie huffed crossing her arms over her chest, letting Peter know that it was not fine.

Peter sighed, "I went out to get some medicine before Aunt May got home," Peter lied convincingly, feeling awful for lying again, "When I got home Aunt May was asleep. She didn't tell me that you'd stopped by. I'm sorry," he apologized honestly.

Jackie processed this for a moment and then much to Peters relief uncrossed her arms and nodded, "You missed a really fun night."

"I know and I'm really sorry I did," he was telling the truth now. Peter wanted to tell her the truth about being Spider-Man so badly. However knowing the truth would only make Jackie's life more complicated, and right now complicated was not what she needed. It was better for her this way.

Jackie watched him closely for a moment. She knew that she should ask him more questions and maybe even be mad at him. However he was staring at her so hopefully with his big brown eyes and she didn't want to fight right now.

A grin crept across Peters face and he slowly began to raise the camera so that it was pointing at Jackie again.

"No!" Jackie groaned covering her face.

* * *

The weather had seemingly changed over night with the passing from October to November. Only a week into November and Jackie was already dreading the rest of the winter months. The temperatures ranged from the low fifties to the low forties but the sky was grey and if the sun ever did come out, it emitted no substantial warmth. Maggie had bought her a coat and gloves, which she greatly appreciated but it didn't seem to be enough to keep her warm when she walked to school. And according to everyone, it was only going to get colder.

Jackie reached the subway station just as the sun was setting.

She'd been at _the Bugle _for much longer than usual but had gotten a lot done.

One of the biggest things that had happened was that Jackie had talked to Joy Mercado for a long time. She'd been trying to set up an interview for Joy and the superintendent of the second building that had burned down, however, Jackie couldn't get a hold of him on the phone.

"This case is so odd! I feel like I know more than the police do!" Joy had told Jackie shaking her head in frustration, "Would you like to shadow me at some point if I can ever get an interview?"

"Yes!" Jackie practically yelled. Joy smirked sensing Jackie's excitement. Jackie blushed a little bit and took a deep breath before saying, "I mean yes, that would be wonderful."

"Alright, sounds good," Joy nodded before heading back to her desk.

Jackie went through the subway barriers and headed to where her train was due to arrive. Looking at a nearby sign, her train was supposed to arrive in five minutes. What time would that be?

Jackie felt to her jacket pocket for her phone to look at the time, but was surprised when she didn't find it. She then reached to the pocket of her jeans but there was no phone.

"Shit!" Jackie swore as she searched through her bag for her phone, "No, no, no!" A few people around looked at her in annoyance but she didn't care.

She was supposed to text Elliot and Maggie when get got to the subway stop closest to her house so he could pick her up so she wouldn't have to walk the ten blocks home alone so late at night. It wasn't even so much that she felt uncomfortable doing it, but she knew Maggie and Elliot would not approve and worry.

Wracking her brain to where her phone might be, Jackie vaguely remembered dropping it by Betty's desk on accident when getting back from a coffee run. Hadn't she picked it up though? Her heart sunk as she couldn't recall ever picking it up. She'd been so distracted by the idea of shadowing Joy that she had forgotten to pick up her phone.

Doubling checking her purse one last time, Jackie pulled out her _Bugle_ ID badge. Maybe she could go back and retrieve her phone from _The_ _Bugle_!

Weaving her way out of the subway station and back to _The Bugle _building, Jackie found that the main door to the building was locked. However after knocking, the night guard whom she'd said goodbye to when she was leaving, opened the door for her and looked at her expectantly.

Before the night guard could say anything Jackie launched into her story, "Hi I'm an intern and I left my phone upstairs and if I could just really quickly go up and grab it, that would be great!" She pulled out her badge and showed him, as if that would somehow make her story more plausible.

"Sure," the security guard shrugged and then warned, "Just don't be too long!"

"I won't!" Jackie promised as she headed for the elevator.

When she reached the top floor, it was eerily quiet and empty and dark. Jackie had no clue where the light switch was so she had to rely on the light streaming in from the windows. Jackie stumbled through the dark clumsily in the direction of Betty's desk which she could just barely see in the distance.

Sinking to her knees while squinting through the dark, Jackie reached in front of her, crawling on the ground trying to find her phone.

"Come on," She groaned in a quiet voice. For some reason, even though she was alone, she felt the need to be quiet.

Finally after a few minutes of searching her fingers felt a rectangular metallic object which she knew was her phone. She'd had to completely crawl under Betty's desk to find it. Letting out a sigh of relief but not standing up from her place under the desk, Jackie quickly opened her phone to text Maggie and Elliot about her dilemma and tell them she was on her way home.

Just as she was about to stand up, she heard the elevator door open with a ding and the sound of footsteps followed. Jackie froze, unsure of what was going on.

"In here," She heard a deep, slightly muffled voice call out as people shuffled into _the_ _Bugle_ office.

The lights flashed on leaving Jackie temporarily blinded as her eyes had become accustomed to the dark.

"That's better," The deep voiced man said approvingly.

What was going on? The office had closed half an hour ago. Everybody was supposed to be out. Jackie stayed very still. Her heart was beating quickly. Even though she hadn't been doing anything wrong she felt guilty. Jackie felt extremely glad to be hidden under the desk.

"We are alone?" A new mans voice questioned. He sounded both unsure and like he wanted to make the first man sound inadequate.

"Of course," The first mans deep voice claimed.

She shouldn't be here. Obviously the two men didn't know that she was there, curled up under a desk just twenty feet a way from them. For a moment, Jackie considered making a run for it or trying to sneak out as she was obviously not supposed to be hearing whatever was about to happen, but she was frozen.

"And no cameras?" The second man wondered, questioning the first mans competency.

"I turned them off," The first man assured.

This sounded incredibly suspicious. How had they gotten past the security guard? Neither of the voices sounded familiar to her. The first man's voice was so muffled though it was hard to tell. It was almost as if there was something covering his face.

"Good," The second man said in a bored tone.

There was a pause before the first man asked slowly, "You've got the money then?"

"Of course I do," Jackie could almost see the second man rolling his eyes at the question which he had deemed idiotic.

There was some shuffling and some opening of something and a grunt of acceptance before the sound of something closing again.

Jackie knew that what was going on was shady. It was like some mob exchange that you only saw in movies. Except for it wasn't a movie, it was happening in the same room as her. Was she witnessing a crime? She wasn't really witnessing it per say but she was hearing it all go down. Jackie tried to regulate her breathing because she had a feeling that unlike in the movies, if the two men were to hear her, they wouldn't brush it off and say it was nothing, they would thoroughly investigate.

"Osborn must really not want this information to get out," The first mans deep voice ventured.

Osborn? Jackie's first thought was of course of Norman Osborn of Oscorp. The mystery company with the mystery founder. The last Jackie had heard though, he was extremely sick. The man hadn't been seen in public for ages.

"That's an understatement" the second man agreed, "After everything Oscorp's involvement in the fires could destroy the company…" the second man trailed off as if extremely worried but then seemed to gather his senses and cleared his throat before saying in a slightly threatening voice, "Luckily we don't have to worry about that happening because you are not going to let anything slip. Are you?"

"No of course not," the first man said confidently before going on to brag, "Me and my guys here have all of the crime reporters off the trail and intend to keep it that way. Not even Jameson can figure anything out. Trust me anyone who comes forward with any information will be quickly silenced. I've managed to get all of the witnesses under control. And I've got people all over the place covering all of the bases. Cops, journalists, detectives. In a month this whole case will be forgotten."

Oscorp was cutting a deal with _The_ _Daily Bugle_ to not talk about their involvement in the fires. The second man was probably worked for Oscorp if he had such insider information about the company. And the second man probably worked for _The Bugle _and was a crime reporter. Jackie had to give the man props, working as a crime reporter was a very clever way to hide his illegal activity. However it made Jackie increasingly uneasy knowing that there were probably several people that she worked with were working for the first man.

It would make sense why no one had been able to get any information on what was going on if there was someone or possibly multiple people sabotaging all their efforts.

It sounded like they weren't just targeting _The Bugle _though. It sounded like the first man had all of news outlets and detectives and law enforcers under his thumb as was using his power to cover up whatever Oscorp had done in relation to the recent fires.

Processing what had just been revealed, Jackie did not like the sound of being "quickly silenced" or having "the witnesses under control" as the first man had mentioned. If they knew she was there she was sure that they would not hesitate in silencing her.

"Yeah if we catch _him_," the Oscorp official alluded.

_Who_? Jackie wanted to know. Whoever this man was, he was in trouble.

The first man let out a deep awkward cough, "I know. We are trying but he's doing a very good job of flying under the radar," he spoke quickly.

"He's almost burned down two buildings," the Oscorp official droned, "That's not really flying under the radar is it?" He wondered sarcastically.

"We are trying our best," the first man said, trying to sound tough.

"Mr. Osborn requests that you try better," the Oscorp official spoke to the first man like he was a child, reprimanding him, "He appreciates your loyalty but without him, the case isn't closed. And you know if you say anything he will not hesitate to take you and your little organization out." He said the threat so casually it sounded as if the two men were talking about restaurant suggestions, instead of murder and hush money.

"I-" the first man began to protest but it was obvious that in this situation, the Oscorp employee had the upper hand, "I understand."

"Lovely," the Oscorp official said shortly, "Pleasure doing business with you Big Man," the two mens hands clapped together in what Jackie presumed was a handshake.

Big Man? So the first man was most likely big. Maybe it was a code name or something? She wished she could see the two men, just for a second, to get a sense of who was behind the crimes.

"Always," the first man agreed in a deep voice, "Give Mr. Osborn my best."

"Next time we meet lets do it somewhere more private," the Oscorp employee offered in his bored voice, "Oscorp would perhaps be a better place to meet. Alright?"

"Certainly," the deep voiced man said tightly, obviously not appreciating the degrading voice, "I've got my guys blocking every entrance though so I assure you we are safe."

The lights flickered off again and Jackie blinked trying to adjust to the darkness again. The elevator doors opened again and Jackie heard shuffling and the sound of the doors closing again.

Jackie didn't move for a few minutes after the two men had left. She was worried that they might come back. She allowed herself to breathe normally for the first time since the two men had arrived. She tried to stop her hands from shaking but was unsuccessful.

How had Jackie even managed to get in in the first place? Where were the night guards? Certainly the man who had let her in hadn't known about this whole thing or else he wouldn't have let her go upstairs.

Jackie's heart nearly stopped as her phone buzzed. She hadn't turned off her phone while the two men had been in there basically admitting that they'd murdered people and that there was something shady enough going on with Oscorp that they were "silencing" witnesses. So stupid of her! If it had gone off while they'd been in the room, she would have been done for.

Sheepishly she wondered if she should have called the police. The man had said that he had cops and detectives working for him though. Who could she trust with all of this information?

She didn't immediately check the text and waited to hear if there were any sounds from around her, like if the two men were still out there, before reading the text that had come from Maggie reading, _Sorry for the late response!_ _The_ s_ounds good! Text me when your close to the stop and I'll pick you up! _

_Okay_ Jackie texted back quickly.

Another ten minutes passed and Jackie knew that she needed to start home. At this time of night, the trains became less frequent and she wanted to get out of this office and home as soon as possible.

Slowly, she got up off the ground and scanned the room. It was quiet, except for the noise of traffic down below. Jackie tiptoed to the exit stairs, not wanting to go down the elevator. She didn't want to have to deal with the night guard if he was still there and she didn't want to run into any of the guys that "Big Man" had claimed were guarding the doors. Praying that the cameras were not on she made her way over to the door to the stairs in a daze. She didn't bother looking for the lights and used the limited light that the phone provided to guide her. Reaching the exit door, Jackie was let out into the enclosed exit, a dimly lit stairwell. Jackie was on the forty-sixth floor which meant it would be a lot of walking to get down, however, she was set against going down in the elevator so it was her only option.

Most of _The Daily Bugle_ building was not actually for _The Daily Bugle_. Although the logo on the building was for the newspaper, the newspaper was actually only three floors and two sub-basement levels while the rest of the floors were rented. The forty-fourth floor was the archives, the forty-fifth floor was publishing and the forty-sixth floor was where all of the journalists and editors worked along with J. Jonah Jameson's office. Jackie had never been down to the basement areas but it was apparently where all of the newspapers were printed.

Jackie didn't really know what was on all of the other rented floors but as she walked down she didn't really care to find out at this time. She walked as quickly and quietly as possible down all the flights. Pausing a few times to listen for footsteps, Jackie gained strength with every step. She couldn't freak out. Not yet. She had to be brave and calm.

When she reached the street level floor, she took a deep breath before pushing the heavy exit door open.

The door opened to an alley, and much to Jackie's relief, there was no one to be seen. Jackie quickly made her way out of the alley and towards the street which unsurprisingly was still very busy. Jackie felt very jumpy and anxious as she made her way back her subway station. She didn't trust anyone. Every person that passed her on the street began to look suspicious.

She still couldn't believe what she had just heard. Maybe it had all been a dream or some weird vivid hallucination? Something inside of her told her it was real though. Although she still had a lot of questions, it would explain why nobody could figure out who was behind the fires.

Once she got on her train and was headed back to Queens she texted Maggie she was on her way before she drafted a list in the notes section of her phone of what she could remember hearing the two men saying:

_1) Oscorp has something to do with the fires and are paying to keep quiet about involvement_

_2) Spies everywhere (specifically_ The Bugle,_ police and detectives)_

_3) Has crime reporters at _The Bugle_ sabotaging the investigation. _

_4) Who is "him"? Big Man is trying to find "him." "He" has caused the fires and has still not been caught._

_5) Big Man and Big Man's organization?_

Re-reading the list over and over again, Jackie didn't know what to do. Who could she tell? Who could she trust? Apparently there were spies for Big Man everywhere. She wasn't sure who she could trust at _The Bugle_. The law enforcement was apparently being bribed. For a moment she thought about telling Maggie or Elliot but immediately ruled that out as she did not want to put anyone she loved in danger of being "silenced."

She also had to remember how crazy this all sounded. It sounded like some weird conspiracy theory. Maybe it _was_ some weird conspiracy theory.

Jackie was the only person to get off the train at her station. It was late. She was glad to see Maggie sitting in Elliot's car when she reached the street and quickly walked towards the car.

"Hey kid!" Maggie greeted as Jackie slipped into the passenger seat and shut the car door behind her. Jackie was in such a daze though she just stared out the window for a few moments, "Jackie!" Maggie interrupted her train of thought questioning worriedly, "You okay?"

"Fine!" Jackie said a little too quickly, "I'm fine. I'm sorry I was so late. First I lost my phone and then there was all of this drama with the trains. I'm just tired," she lied.

"Don't worry about it!" Maggie assured her, "Elliot saved some dinner for you in the microwave. You should get to bed early though," Maggie suggested.

Jackie nodded weakly and Maggie drove them home.

Maybe she had imagined everything.

Maybe there was nothing to worry about.

Maybe she had misunderstood.

There were so many maybe's and questions circling through Jackie's head that it was hard to process.

However as the car reached a stop in front of the house, Jackie had made up her mind about one thing.

She was going to get to the bottom of what she had heard and until she had definitive proof she wasn't going to put anyone in danger until she had everything figured out and knew who she could trust.

_It was probably nothing,_ she tried to convince herself _there is probably some obvious explanation for everything that I heard. I'm sure its an open and shut case. _

Jackie ate the cold pizza Elliot had left for her, at the desk in her room while distractedly trying to finish what homework she had that was due tomorrow. Luckily she'd done her chemistry homework with Peter during lunch so she barely had anything due the next day.

It was almost midnight when she finished her homework. For a moment she thought about going to sleep but instead decided to research what information she could find on both the fires.

She was going to figure this out.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey everyone!

First off a big big big huge giant ginormous gargantuan thank you to **The girl with no life**, **Nellie **(as always!), and **theflash3695559 **for the lovely reviews! I appreciate your feedback and support soooooooo soooooo soooo much!

To **theflash3695559: **I know this isn't what you wanted from this chapter but hold on! We've still got a ways to go but I promise it will be worth it! I have plans!

Thanks for all of the favorites and follows too! I love getting the emails that people have liked or followed and really appreciate y'all.

So this is kind of a big chapter as it sets up a lot of what will be happening for the rest of the story so pay attention to everything!

Sorry there was not a lot of Peter/Jackie in this chapter! I promise next chapter will have a lot more Peter/Jackie!

Please review if you can! I'm kind of in a grove right now and hearing what you guys think would probably improve my grove even more!

THANKS AGAIN!


	10. Chapter 10: The Lightning Strike

Jackie was not a fan of hospitals anymore.

When she was younger, she'd loved going to the UC San Francisco Medical Center, because that meant she got to see her Mom working. Maggie had usually watched Jackie after school but when Maggie was busy with extra-curricular activities, Jackie went to the hospital and sat in the break room or cafeteria with whoever was off duty, while her Mom worked. She'd loved it. All the doctors and nurses fawned over her. They were all like extended family to Jackie.

She got to watch all the TV she wanted and eat Jello and occasionally she got to do rounds with her mom and cheer up patients. Her mom kept her fairly shielded from the death and emergency aspect of the hospital though.

Now, Jackie equated the hospital with death and being cut into. She'd had to spend so much time in the hospital after the crash, after her reconstructive surgeries, stuck in bed waiting for people to come check on how her burns were healing. Jackie had also had a broken rib and fractured leg so she'd been pretty much bedridden. She'd felt trapped in her hospital bed and although Maggie had immediately flown out to San Francisco after the crash and stayed with Jackie, Jackie felt alone.

"Jacqueline Carter?" A nurse called out appearing at the front desk with a clipboard in her hand.

"Here!" Jackie said standing from her seat in the waiting room.

She'd left school early to go to the hospital and get her scars checked up by a plastic surgeon. She had to make sure that none of her scars were getting infected and make sure her scars were healing properly. Although Jackie knew that plastic surgeons did more than just give people face lifts—without a plastic surgeon Jackie's burns probably would have killed her or her scars would have been much worse, it was still embarrassing to tell people she was going to see a plastic surgeon, so she'd just told Peter and Mia that she had a normal check up.

Jackie followed the nurse into a room with a large chair for her to sit on so the doctor could look at her scars. Jackie took a seat on the chair which was slightly reclined and waited.

"Dr. Montgomery will be in here in a moment," the nurse told her once she had set everything up.

"Ok," Jackie said pulling out her phone as the nurse exited the room.

Immediately Jackie pulled up the list on her phone of what she had overheard. She'd been going over it over and over again since her discoveries. While at _The Bugle_ she would use their databases to try and type in searches for everything she could think of relating to the fires. This wasn't turning out to be very helpful though. Oscorp was in the news so much that there were thousands of articles and although Jackie was filtering through them, she had found none that were relevant so far. Big Man on the other hand came up with only three results and none of them were crime organization related. Jackie was not surprised to find that the fires could not be found in the databases. She guessed that they had been deleted to keep the story quiet. Fortunately she had saved the physical articles and was able to highlight what little information she could extract from them.

Peter had caught Jackie staring at her phone intently the day before and had questioned her but she'd just told him she was reading an email.

Jackie almost dropped her phone when the door swung open revealing a middle aged man with red hair and a red beard wearing dark blue scrubs and carrying a manila folder. Jackie let out a deep breath. She was still a little anxious and paranoid after the whole Big Man ordeal.

"Hi Jacqueline, I'm Dr. Montgomery," He introduced himself entering the room.

"Hello," Jackie said, not bothering to correct him about her name.

"Alright," Dr. Montgomery said opening the manila folder which Jackie knew held her medical records. He seemed friendly enough but very straight to the point. "It says here that you suffered severe burns on your shoulders and stomach after a car crash in August, is that correct?"

"Yes," Jackie nodded, trying not to focus too much on anything he was saying.

"You had six surgeries in August and September including one to remove the necrotic tissues and another where you received auto skin grafts?"

Jackie had a flash of being in the surgeries and tensed, holding her breath. After a few seconds she managed to push out a "Correct."

Dr. Montgomery gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry I don't mean to bring everything back up for you," He apologized, "I'm just trying to get the entire picture here."

"It's fine," Jackie shrugged as if it were not big deal even though it was, "It's just still kind of… fresh."

Dr. Montgomery nodded again, giving her a moment before offering tentatively, "Let's look at those scars then.

"Alright," Jackie agreed. She'd worn a camisole under her shirt so that the doctor could examine her, so Jackie pulled off her long sleeved blue top. Then she pulled up the bottom of her camisole up so that the doctor could look at her stomach. Jackie didn't even bother to look at the scars, knowing they would just upset her.

She watched as the doctors eyes appraised her burns. For a moment Jackie thought he might make a comment but instead Dr. Montgomery put on his latex gloves and began running his hand lightly across her shoulders, checking to make sure the grafts were still in tact and that none of them were infected.

"Are your parents here?" He asked as he examined.

"My older sister and her boyfriend are out of town actually," She informed him. She'd taken the bus to get to the hospital. Maggie had felt awful for being able to go with Jackie but Jackie didn't really mind.

Maggie and Elliot had gone down to North Carolina for the weekend because Elliot's parents were not going to be able to come up for Thanksgiving and Elliot and Maggie wanted to have their first Thanksgiving in their new house special. Jackie had opted to stay home as she had a lot going on between school and college applications and trying to figure out what was going on with the fires.

"You are so lucky that the burns didn't get to your chest," Dr. Montgomery commented shaking his head as he moved his hand down to look at the burns on her stomach.

"Right," Jackie said looking forward into the distance.

Jackie knew what he meant. She'd heard it before that she was "lucky." The people that told her this were talking from a medical standpoint. They meant that she was lucky that she didn't get more burned because it would have meant more surgeries. However Jackie didn't really feel lucky. If she were lucky, the crash never would have happened in the first place and her mother wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't have nightmares every night and not even be able to light a candle without freaking out about fire.

Removing his gloves Dr. Montgomery turned to write something down in Jackie's folder, "Your scars don't appear to be infected and the skin grafts look fine," He informed her and Jackie let out a sigh of relief. She pulled her camisole back down and put her shirt back on. "Next time you have to bring a parent or guardian. If they had been infected you would have needed surgery," Dr. Montgomery warned.

"Okay," Jackie agreed, glad that she was cleared. She did not want to need surgery anytime soon.

"Looks like it's going to storm," Dr. Montgomery said pointing out the window.

"Oh yeah," Jackie nodded, propping herself up on her elbows to peer out the window. Dark clouds were circling closer and closer, threatening a storm at any moment.

"The weather channel predicted lightning and thunder," Dr. Montgomery said, watching the storm, "Do you have a ride back home?"

"I'm taking the bus," Jackie told him, "But I don't live too far away so I should get there before the clouds do."

"Okay," Dr. Montgomery warned, "Go straight home. It looks like it's going to be a big one," and then turning his attention back to Jackie he said, and Jackie appreciated his concern, "If that's all then I'll set up a follow up appointment for you in two months."

"Alright," Jackie agreed, slipping out of the chair, and heading for the door, "Thanks Dr. Montgomery."

"Call me if you have any questions or come in if you have any complications," He told her.

"I will," Jackie assured him, giving him one last smile before exiting the plastic surgery unit.

Jackie heeded Dr. Montgomery's advice and went straight home. Two minutes after she got home it started pouring.

* * *

It got dark especially early because of the storm.

Earlier Jackie and Mia had made tentative plans to go see a movie but after the storm started both of them decided it was probably for the best that they rescheduled.

Curling up on the couch with a blanket and her computer Jackie poked at a slice of microwaved lasagna that Elliot had left. Despite only being gone for two and a half days, Elliot had left her a whole lasagna, a pot pie, and an entire grilled chicken along with countless baked and grilled vegetable medleys.

She was continuing to filter through the "Oscorp" keyword section _The Daily Bugle _database. She was beginning to feel like it was a little hopeless though. So far she had found nothing of relevance so far. If she had more details or a name or something it would help but despite Oscorp's obviously sketchy history she hadn't been found anything that fit into the list that she had. She needed more.

She had already gotten all the way back into the Curt Conners news from last year. Jackie was somewhat surprised that they hadn't deleted those too. For about a two weeks, last year after Curt Conners had terrorized New York, every single article from _The Bugle_ was about either Dr. Conners or Spider-Man.

Jackie couldn't really understand how even though there were a lot of pictures of Spider-Man fighting the Lizard, _The Bugle_ had still spun the story to be anti Spider-Man. Jackie had a feeling that even though Jameson had opted for the stories to show Spider-Man as the villain, Robbie Robertson had tried his best to still show Spider-Man in a good light.

The more Jackie read and scanned the news stories, the more amazed Jackie became. If a giant lizard could take over Manhattan, the fires could be caused by anything. Maybe something not even human. She secretly wondered if Spider-Man knew what was going on, like he seemed to with the Lizard. Maybe Jackie didn't need to be doing all of this research because Spider-Man knew what was going on. He had been present at both of the fires and witnesses had seen him saving people from the fire. However, somehow Jackie knew that she couldn't depend on Spider-Man, she had to keep looking. She just hoped something would come up soon, she was becoming discouraged.

Jackie jumped as a streak of bright light cracked through the dark sky followed by a loud rumble of thunder. She shivered a little bit noticing for the first time the loud pounding of the rain and the rattling of the windows. She'd gotten so caught up in her research that she hadn't even realized how bad the storm was getting.

Setting her computer to the side, Jackie walked over to the window and peered out just as another strike of lightning shot through the sky. The street was pretty empty with no cars passing. The rain was beginning to fall even harder, spattering everywhere.

Jackie was surprised to see the living room light was on at the Parkers house. She couldn't see if there was anyone inside though and May's car wasn't there.

Suddenly there was a snap and all of the lights in the house suddenly shut off. Jackie didn't react for a moment, so srprised at what had happened. It wasn't just her house either. The whole block was pitch black. The power was out.

"No," Jackie groaned.

She didn't know where the flashlights were in the house. Of course she knew where the candles and matches were but using them was out of the question. She couldn't. She couldn't do it.

She felt alone. Alone in a big house. And it was so dark.

Backing away from the window, Jackie made her way back to the couch and sat for a moment. Of course, there was not internet so she just shut her computer.

Lightning flashed again and thunder followed and Jackie realized she didn't know what to do. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep alone through the storm but she had no light in the house to do anything else.

The house creaked as a large gust of wind shook the house and Jackie jumped up off the couch in surprise. The windows rattled threatening to swing open. Crossing her arms over her chest defensively Jackie began to back away to the stairs. Maybe she could just go upstairs and lie in her bed and wait for the lights to turn on again.

As another flash of lightning cracked, Jackie leapt sideways and she felt her leg twisting around something and then she felt herself colliding into something and falling. She let out a scream of shock as she fell and then she heard something next to her shattering. Although she still couldn't really see she knew she'd gotten caught in the cord of the living rooms ceramic lamp and had knocked it over. She'd fallen on her hands and knees and her left hand instantly began to hurt. Without taking a beat, Jackie stood and ran. Opening the front door she headed outside.

The moment she stepped off the porch, she was drenched by the rain. Her hair plastered to her face and her clothing was soaked. There were giant puddles everywhere and it was cold. She ran straight for Peter's house, wishing that she had grabbed a jacket or boots but did not want to turn around.

Running up the stoop to Peter's house she prayed that someone was home as she reached the door.

Peter opened the door the second Jackie was going to knock. "Jackie! Come in!" He quickly ushered her inside and closed the door behind her. Jackie stepped inside panting and shivering but stayed close to the doorway not wanting to get the house wet,"I was just coming over to check on you! I heard you scream. Are you okay?" He asked sounding very concerned.

"You were coming over to check on me?" Jackie repeated, her teeth clattering.

"Your hand!" Peter's eyes widened as he pointed down at Jackie's hand which she hadn't noticed was bleeding. There was a long but shallow cut running across her palm.

Peter quickly walked over to her and grabbed her hand and began looked at the cut, "I knocked over a lamp on accident and tripped and must have cut myself on something," Jackie informed him trying to ignore the instant shock she had felt when he touched her.

"I knew I should have gone over the second the power went out," Peter said more to himself then her. Jackie opened her mouth to protest but before she could, Peter let go of her hand and quickly said, "I don't think it's deep enough for you to need stitches," he told her, Jackie bit her lip and nodded, although she already known that she didn't need stitches. She also knew that it was going to leave a scar on her palm. _Great. Another scar._

Peter turned and began to run upstairs, "I'm gonna go get some bandages." Jackie couldn't really put her finger on how, but Peter seemed different. He seemed more assertive and older but also a bit distressed at Jackie's injury.

"Okay," She said knowing better than to argue with him now. She kept her hand slightly elevated trying to decrease the chances of swelling. She didn't have anything to apply pressure with yet but fortunately she couldn't feel any ceramic or glass in her hand so she was probably in the clear, it was just bleeding quite a bit.

Jackie took a hesitant step inside grateful to see light. Peter had lit some candles and had a camping lantern set up in the living room. The thunder and lightning had appeared to stop but the rain was still pounding and the wind was still howling. However, Jackie hardly noticed. The house was significantly warmer than hers and for some reason felt safer.

When he reappeared, Peter was carrying towels and a first aid kit. Peter draped one towel around Jackie's neck and then took her hand again and with the other smaller towel applied pressure to Jackie's cut. His hand was so warm holding Jackie's cold shaking hand. Jackie watched as the white towel on her cut began to turn crimson.

"Come to the kitchen," He instructed and Jackie followed him. Her shoes squeaked on the hard wood floor as she walked and she could feel water droplets sliding off of her and falling to the ground. Peter still had her hand and was leading her to the kitchen while applying pressure and even though Jackie could have easily done it herself, she appreciated how diligent Peter was being and didn't mind the physical contact.

The kitchen was still pretty dark as there were no candles or lanterns but Jackie could see the sink and lightly pulled her hand out of Peter's,"I'm sorry Peter," Jackie said running her hand under the sink, washing off the cut. She knew the drill. First apply pressure, then clean, then Neosporin, then bandage and then elevate. She was glad that her mom had taught her basic first aid. Although Jackie had no interest in going into medicine or health, she knew how to take care of herself and she wasn't squeamish about cuts or bruises.

"Sorry for what?" Peter wondered leaning against a nearby counter, his eyes following Jackie's every move.

"I didn't mean to come over here and bleed all over the place and get your house all wet," she explained pulling her hand out of the sink and looking at the cut for herself, not wanting to make eye contact with Peter and show how embarrassed she was, "I just… It was just…" she trailed off unable to fully express how she was feeling.

"It's fine Jackie, " Peter shrugged, watching her intently, ready to help if she needed him.

There were a few seconds of silence before Jackie asked, "Do you have Neosporin?"

"Ugh…" Peter said digging through the first aid kit, "Yeah here," he told her handing her the antibacterial salve.

"Thanks," Jackie nodded opening the Neosporin and dabbed it onto her hand.

"Let me do the bandage," Peter told her walking towards her with a roll of elastic bandage in hand.

"Okay," Jackie agreed. Even though she had put elastic bandages on before, she knew it was easier and faster for Peter to do it and held put her palm face up for him to wrap it. Working quickly, Peter wrapped the bandage around her wrist twice and then diagonally, passing it through her thumb and pointer finger, "You are pretty good at the first aid thing," she admitted to Peter as he continued to wrap.

"So are you," Peter told her finishing the bandaging by applying some adhesive tape.

"Nurse Mom," Jackie reminded him inspecting his work. It felt secure and covered the cut and gave her full use of all of her fingers, which in Jackie's book was all that mattered.

"Nurse Aunt," He told reminded her grinning and finally seeming more like himself.

"Where is May?" Jackie asked looking around the house, as if May was going to pop up out of nowhere.

Peter sighed, "Still at the hospital. She had to switch shifts with someone. Usually she doesn't do the night shift. Her shift goes until two a.m. but if the weather doesn't let up she'll have to stay overnight probably. I hope she didn't try to head home in this weather."

"I'm sure she didn't," Jackie comforted, "May is smart. She would know better then to drive in this weather."

Peter nodded but peered out the window, looking to see if the storm had let up at all, which it really hadn't.

"You need dry clothes," Peter said, quickly changing the subject.

"What?" Jackie questioned, looking down at her jeans and blue top and camisole. They were all still soaked and clung to her body.

"You look cold," Peter clarified, "You should put on some dry clothes."

"Oh" Jackie nodded, wrapping the towel Peter had put around her shoulders earlier tighter around her body. She was cold. She wasn't quite sure what to do with this information though. Did he want her to go back to her house and get some dry clothes? Was this his polite way of trying to get rid of her?

"Here," Peter said turning to the laundry room which was adjoined to the kitchen and pulling out a pair of flannel green and blue pajama pants and a large navy hoodie and the offering them to Jackie, "They'll probably be too big for you but they're probably better than nothing."

"I can just run home," Jackie suggested, "You've already done so much," She wanted nothing more than to be wearing warm clothes but she didn't want to take anything else from Peter.

"You want to run back in the rain to your dark house where there is broken glass all over the floor?" Peter asked raising an eyebrow.

Looking down and the clothes, Jackie realized that Peter had a point, "You are probably right…" She sighed, "But-"

"Jackie," Peter said interrupting her attempt to protest.

"I just don't want-" Jackie began again.

"It's fine," Peter assured her.

"But what if-" Jackie tried once more.

"Jackie, it's just a pair of pajamas," Peter told her firmly.

"Fine," she sighed.

Peter nodded knowingly and then handed the clothes to Jackie,"You can go upstairs and change," Peter said passing her a flashlight, "I'm going to clean up some of the water down here."

After clicking the flashlight on, with pajama and hoodie in hand Jackie began to head for the stairs to go change. She paused though and turned around. Peter was already bent over, cleaning up the water from the floor from where she had been standing.

"Peter?" She called to him.

"Yeah?" He wondered.

"Thank you," She told him sincerely.

"Anytime," He told her giving her a small smile.

Heading upstairs, Jackie realized it was the first time she'd been upstairs in Peter's house. They usually hung out in the living room and sometimes the kitchen but she'd never been upstairs before. Finding the bathroom, Jackie closed the door behind her and set the flashlight down near the sink. Looking in the mirror above the sink, Jackie cringed at her reflection. Her eye makeup was smeared because of the rain and her typically straight hair was starting to curl and frizz as it dried. She looked like a mess. Washing her face with her unbandaged hand, she washed all of the makeup off her face and then put her hair up into a ponytail.

Peter's pajama pants were pretty large on Jackie. The main problem was that they were way to long on her. She rolled the waist a few times but she eventually just gave up. They were extremely comfortable though, and it felt good to be about of her rain soaked jeans. Shedding her blue top, she left her camisole on before tugging on the navy hoodie and zipping it up. The hoodie was pretty baggy but Jackie felt almost immediately warmer. She hung her jeans, top and socks on the bathtub to dry and then headed back downstairs with the flashlight.

"Don't you dare laugh Peter Parker," Jackie warned as she walked down the stairs, tripping over the leg of the pajama pants which were dragging on the floor a little bit.

"I won't," Peter assured her. The second Peter saw her he burst out laughing, "I'm sorry," he laughed, "It looks like you shrunk a foot or something."

Jackie rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as she headed for the couch, taking a seat. It was so warm and comforting with the dim mood lighting. She pulled both of her legs onto the couch and grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it across her legs to warm her feet. Peter cleaned up the water for a few more minutes before collapsing next to her on the couch.

"How's your hand?" Peter questioned, looking down at her hand.

"It's fine," Jackie shrugged, flexing her bandaged hand a few times to show that she was okay. It really didn't hurt anymore. She'd probably be able to take the bandage off by the time Elliot and Maggie got home.

A silence fell over the two as the house let out a loud creak. "Oh hey," Peter said breaking the silence as he remembered something, "So when I was taking pictures of you the other day while you were working on your essay I think I got a pretty good picture. I've been meaning to show you but you've been kind of busy with _The Bugle _and stuff," he said. Jackie felt a pang of guilt. "Wanna see it?" He wondered, a smile spreading across his face

"Yes," Jackie nodded eagerly, sitting up a little straighter, her interest piqued.

"I'll be right back," Peter told her, getting up and running upstairs. She heard some shuffling upstairs and then him coming back downstairs.

"Here," Peter said passing her the printed photograph before taking a seat next to her again.

Looking at the picture Jackie was amazed. She almost didn't recognize herself. Her hair was perfectly tousled giving her an _I woke up like this _look. As Peter had explained when he was taking the picture, the lighting framed her face shadowing and contouring her skin faultlessly. She wasn't smiling but she didn't have on her typical blank resting face. Instead she had dawned a pensive, thoughtful expression, however the corners of her lips looked like they might turn up into a smile at any second. Her dark eyes were almost sparkling in the photo. She was looking towards the camera but wasn't looking directly into the lens. Jackie knew she must have been looking at Peter.

"Wow Peter this is a _really_ good picture," Jackie finally complimented, meeting his eye, "I don't look terrible! Actually I look kind of good. You were right about the lighting. "

"Trust me it's not the lighting," Peter told her honestly, looking down at the picture, examining it for himself, "It's just you."

Jackie bit her lip to stop herself from grinning and feeling herself blushing, she looked down at the picture again.

However as she looked at the picture it felt like a lie. She wasn't the girl in the picture. She couldn't be. She was lying to Peter about a few things now but how could she lie about something like her scars to him? The scars were a big part of who she was now and she was hiding them from him and until he saw them he couldn't know her, at least not fully. She wanted him to know her and understand her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked. Jackie could hear the concern in his voice.

Opening her her eyes, Jackie looked over at Peter who's soft brown eyes were watching her intently.

"Peter I need to show you something," Jackie whispered, standing up slowly.

"What?" Peter wondered, not having heard her.

"I need to show you something," She said a little louder. Slowly, she held her hand up to the zipper of the hoodie and slowly unzipped it.

"Jackie what are you doing," Peter asked sounding very confused. Jackie slipped off Peter's hoodie so that she was just wearing her camisole. The scars on her shoulder were now visible. Jackie watched Peter blink as he tried to decide if he was seeing her correctly, "Jackie…?" He trailed off.

Jackie could feel his gaze on her shoulders as he studied the light pink indents that covered her shoulders. His eyes widened a little bit as he seemed to realize what the marks were.

"They are burn scars, from the crash. The hood of the car caught on fire and I got second and third degree burns," She explained in a voice she didn't quite recognize, "Earlier today I had to go see a plastic surgeon so he could look at my burn scars and make sure that they weren't infected."

Slowly she lifted up the bottom of her camisole up to reveal the scars on her stomach. Her belly button was extremely deformed because of the surgery and the warped disfigurements showed where she had been cut open for surgery and where the skin grafts had been put in.

Peter opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again not sure what to say.

Slowly Jackie lowered her shirt again. Had she freaked him out? He was still looking at her stomach, trying to piece everything together.

She started again, "I'm not scared of spiders Peter. And people always expect me to be afraid of cars but I'm not," she explained and then taking a deep breath admitted, "I'm terrified of fire. When the power went out I was too scared to light a candle. A little candle. And right now all I can think about is those candles getting knocked over or lightning causing another fire." She said gesturing to the candles on the coffee table.

Gingerly she took a seat back on the couch and met his eye again. He looked sad and thoughtful but still wasn't talking so she continued, "Those fires that are happening downtown give me nightmares. Actually every single night since the crash all I can think about is being trapped in a small place and burned again," she told him. This was the most honest she'd been with anyone since the crash, "I don't know what to do. And I have this constant ugly reminder branded on my body reminding me of the worst day of my life. And I… I don't know why I'm telling all of you this right now but I just… you've been so good to me and I want to be honest with you." She finished, looking away she was scared more than she was sad now.

"Do they hurt?" Peter asked tentatively clearing his throat.

"Not really anymore," Jackie answered shrugging and looking straight ahead, "I just hate them. I hate them so much."

Peter nodded but didn't seem to know what to say.

It was quiet for a second and for a moment Jackie regretted telling him. Maybe he would treat her differently now. Like she was delicate or different. But then the regret passed. Maybe Peter hadn't been ready to see this part of her but at least now she didn't have to hide it from him. And if he treated her differently, he wasn't the guy that she thought he was.

"They aren't ugly," Peter finally said.

"What?" Jackie said turning to him with skepticism laced in her voice.

"The scars," He explained, "You said they were ugly. They aren't ugly."

"Peter…" She trailed off shaking her head in disagreement.

"No I'm serious, they aren't ugly at all," Jackie took a deep breath. She'd expected him to be surprised but she hadn't expected that

"Peter they are giant flaws stamped on my body," She countered.

"Well your flaws aren't flaws to me," He shrugged in a final way, "And I understand that you don't like them but they don't change how I see you at all."

Jackie just looked at him for a moment, studying his eyes which were staring right back at her with an intensity she had never seen Peter have. He wasn't just exaggerating or trying to make her feel Better. He'd said it like it had been a fact. Now she was the one that didn't know how to respond, "Thanks Peter," She finally choked out. She knew it was a weak reply but she didn't know how else to express what she was feeling.

"I'm really glad you told me," Peter seemed genuinely grateful and then he wondered, "Did you think it would weird me out?"

"I don't know, I guess," Jackie shrugged, picking up the hoodie that she'd taken off for a reveal and put it back on. Not because she was hiding or embarrassed now though, just because she was cold. "I should have known you wouldn't flip out but… I don't know. I've been trying to cover them up since August so that people won't see me as damaged or broken and I just see the scars as so unattractive and horrible I assumed everyone else would too."

Peter wore a small smile as she shook his head, "Jackie I _really_ don't think you have to worry about being seen unattractive or horrible,"

"Thanks Peter," Jackie said sarcastically, "You mean I'm not unattractive or horrible?"

"You know what I mean," Peter rolled his eyes, casually running his hand through his hair.

"Do you say that to all the girls?" she teased, "It's a great pickup line. Hey, did you know your not unattractive or horrible?"

"All what girls?" Peter wondered laughing a little bit. Jackie scoffed at Peter's rejection of the idea that girls were interested in him. Seeming surprised by her reaction, he explained, "Jackie, you are talking to a guy that pretty much hit puberty last year. I don't think I'm super _in_ with the ladies."

"Stop it Peter," Jackie protested, crossing her arms over her chest, "Girls look at you all the time!"

"Really, like who?" Peter challenged, obviously not believing her.

"I saw Liz Allan checking you out in the library yesterday!" Jackie informed him smugly.

"Liz Allan?" There was obvious shock in Peter's voice. Liz Allan was popular and pretty and according to Mia had been Flash's on and off girlfriend since eighth grade. Apparently they'd been off for a while though because Jackie had never seen them together. The other day in the library, Jackie had watched Liz's eyes follow Peter as he'd come to meet Jackie and Mia for lunch. Peter, unsurprisingly, had been totally oblivious.

"Yes," Jackie confirmed.

"I doubt that," Peter said dryly, dismissing the idea Jackie could tell he was thinking about it though.

"She totally was!" Jackie argued. Peter raised his eyebrows and Jackie sighed before saying, "You are a good guy but you also kind of have the mystery thing going for you! Girls like that!"

"Mystery thing?" Peter reeled, still not believing Jackie.

"Yes!" Jackie nodded, "You are tall-"

"Height hardly seems like a contributing factor," Peter interrupted.

Jackie ignore him and continued, "-and a little bit dark but you've got really nice eyes. And you are a little bit of an outsider but not because you are weird, just because you've kind of decided that you don't want to be part of the 'popular crowd.' And people don't even know how kind and smart you are because you don't show it off but you can still kind of tell," Jackie couldn't help but smile a little bit as Peter blushed.

To Jackie it seemed so obvious: _Of course g_irls would look at Peter Parker. He would be the perfect boyfriend. He was the perfect kind of guy to bring home to the parents, with charm and intelligence. He had kind, thoughtful eyes, a smile that made you smile, good hair and was built but not a total muscle head. He was attractive but seemed genuinely clueless about it. Most importantly though, Peter had substance. He was the kind of guy you could have an actual conversation with and not feel like you were talking to a wall. He cared and made the people that he cared about feel special. Girls probably flirted with him all the time and he misinterpreted it.

When Jackie had finished her speech, Peter scratched behind his neck and responded, "Well, I think that you are making stuff up and that they just think I'm nerdy and lonely."

"Well I hate to tell you this but… you're wrong," Jackie pursed her lips and smiled giving him an apologetic shrug.

"I"m wrong?" Peter said tilting his head to the side and giving Jackie a lopsided grin.

"Pretty much," Jackie informed him in a fake syrupy sweet voice.

Peter watched Jackie, seeming amused, "Wow those are bold words coming from a girl who is lying about Liz Allan watching me in the library!" He accused her in a taunting voice.

"I'm not lying!" Jackie gasping.

"Are you sure?" Peter mocked.

"Peter you are a great guy," Jackie told him honestly, "Any girl would be lucky to have you!" And then she added with a grin, "Also you are not unattractive or horrible."

"You know what I meant," Peter groaned chuckling.

Before Jackie could really process anything she found herself saying, "Peter, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Peter took a long thoughtful pause before saying simply, "Yeah."

Just like it had felt right for Jackie to tell Peter about her burn scars, it needed to feel right for him to tell her about whatever he was hiding. Jackie just hoped it would feel right eventually because just like Jackie wanted him to know her, she wanted to know him.

"Okay," Jackie nodded slowly, "Just checking."

* * *

Jackie had fallen asleep on the couch. After talking for hours, Peter had gotten up to check if any of the other rooms had power and when he'd come back downstairs, Jackie was asleep. She was currently curled up under several blankets, still wearing Peter's hoodie and sweat pants. The storm had passed but she looked so comfortable, Peter didn't want to wake her up.

Peter was sitting on the ground, nearby the couch, thinking. Every few minutes he'd steal a glance at Jackie to make sure she was okay.

The scars had surprised him. He'd hadn't expected them at all. She had done a good job of covering them up. But he'd been completely honest when he told her that they didn't change how he saw her. She was still radiant to him. If anything, the scars showed him how strong Jackie was.

It was getting harder and harder for him to keep saying that Jackie was just a friend. He didn't want to ruin anything though.

_Shit._

Peter couldn't help but smile a little remembering what Jackie had said about him being 'kind and smart' and a little bit mysterious and having 'nice eyes.' He'd never had a girl compliment him so much. He wasn't used to getting that sort of attention from girls and wasn't sure how to interpret everything that she told him. It was weird to think of Liz Allan possibly chucking him out in the library the other day (although he was still skeptical about the validity of this claim).

He felt a pang of guilt though, thinking about Jackie's honesty. Peter could tell that it had been difficult for her to talk to him about her scars and then she had told him that he could tell her anything. It could have been the perfect moment to tell her the truth. However he'd chickened out. There was still a part of him hoping, even though he knew it wasn't realistic, that Jackie would never have to know. She'd be safer. She wouldn't worry about him. She wouldn't loose anyone else. But only giving Jackie half of himself was hard. While she was opening up to him and hoping for some reciprocation, he was covering up his true identity. As Peter Parker he had the people he cared about. But as Spider-Man he was important and made a difference and saved lives. He couldn't just give up one or prioritize the other. But he wanted to be the guy that Jackie described.

Not wanting to think about it anymore he stood, and began to walk towards the stairs. Spider-Man always helped him take his mind off of his personal life problems. When he was Spider-Man everyone else's problems came before his. Now, because the storm had passed, he should probably do some rounds and see if there was anyone who need help or had been trapped. With the power down and the lightning and the strong winds it was inevitable that someone needed help.

"Peter?" Jackie mumbled sitting up slightly, causing Peter to freeze at the foot of the stairs, "Please don't leave." Peter wasn't totally sure if she was awake or asleep but thought it might be a bit of both.

"I'm right here," Peter told her without even thinking. Jackie nodded, accepting his answer and almost immediately fell asleep again. Peter made his way back to where he had been seated on the floor and took a seat.

Taking a pillow from a nearby chair, Peter suddenly realized how little he'd been sleeping and how tired he was. He'd been doing rounds almost every night, watching Osborn and trying to understand the fires. Hearing Jackie talk about her fear of fires only motivated him more to figure out the mystery. However he couldn't do it all. On a good night he got two to three hours of sleep and it was catching up to him.

He knew that he had an obligation to help those in need. But maybe, just this once, the person that really needed him wasn't a stranger or a civilian, but was the girl right in front of him.

Still on the floor next to the couch, Peter laid back onto the pillow and began to feel his eyes droop, "I'm not going anywhere," Peter assured the sleeping Jackie softly before dozing off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N**: HEY Y'all!

Sorry that it's been a while but I have been pretty busy with my summer jobs!

Thanks to **Nightingale agent of the dark**, **Nellie**, **The Kid**, and **strongthesameoldfearsx** for the reviews! I really really really really really appreciate them

**strongthesameoldfearsx**, this chapter has been 99% done for like a week now but your review inspired me to finish it :)

Some interesting stuff happening between Peter and Jackie huh? Haha! I hope you all like the chapter and let me know if you have any comments or feedback by leaving a review! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!


	11. Chapter 11: A Little Lost

"What happened next?" Mia pressed curiously.

"We talked and I fell asleep," Jackie shrugged continuing to scribble notes into her Spanish notebook.

Spanish class itself was very boring and Jackie usually utilized the class to finish homework for English or chemistry. During her first week of school, Jackie had attempted to pay attention to Señora Martinez's drawling, even though all of the students around her were not paying attention at all, but a week later she'd given in and started doing her homework during class to have something to keep her from falling asleep. Peter later informed her that Señora Martinez was universally known at Midtown for being an awful teacher and that most students just took her class for college credit.

However the fact that the class was boring didn't mean it was easy. Jackie had a test for it the next day and like all of the other students that weren't paying attention, she had no clue what was going on in the class. She just couldn't seem to remember the irregular verbs or the past tense. Mia, who was in AP Spanish had been helping a little bit but had mainly been questioning her about her night with Peter while Jackie frantically took notes from her Spanish book, occasionally sifting through her flash cards.

"That's it?" Mia said, seeming disappointed.

"What did you expect?" Jackie wondered pausing for a moment to look at her hand. Maggie had been so worried when she and Elliot had gotten home from North Carolina. She'd heard about the power outage and even though Jackie had texted her that she was okay once the power was back, Maggie had cried when she saw Jackie's hand.

Peter had said he had some emergency yearbook thing so he had to skip lunch in the library. It had only been two days since the power outage but they hadn't really mentioned that night. Jackie was grateful, although she did feel much closer to Peter.

"I don't know," Mia sighed, "It was so dramatic with the lightning and the lamp breaking and your hand getting hurt and then you just talked and fell asleep?"

"In the morning, his Aunt May came in and saw me sleeping on the couch in Peter's clothes, surrounded by candles and thought something much more scandalous had happened?"

"Was she mad?" Mia wondered.

"I don't think so," Jackie shook her head remembering Aunt May's smile, "And then we explained what happened and she seemed kind of disappointed."

"Well Aunt May and I are on the same page," Mia told Jackie honestly.

"Again I ask, what did you expect to happen?" Jackie asked, actually curious to know what Mia and Aunt May seemed to think was supposed to have happened that night.

"You've got _the Bugle_ after school today right?" Mia asked changing the subject.

For a second Jackie thought about backtracking and asking Mia what she had meant but then she answered "Yes," and the subject was dropped. She continued, "Which is why I am trying to study for this test because I probably won't have any time tonight." She gestured down to her Spanish notebook.

"Fine I can take a hint," Mia shook her head and gave a dramatic sigh, "It's just your night was so much more interesting then mine. I just watched _Harry Potter_ on my computer until it died and I couldn't recharge it because the power was out, so I went to bed at like ten o'clock. But I'll leave you alone."

"Don't leave me alone! Help me study!" Jackie begged.

"Alright," Mia nodded, "What do you need help with?"

"I don't understand the past tense," Jackie whined.

"Let me look at your notes," Mia decided.

"Okay," Jackie agreed, passing Mia her notebook.

While Mia looked over Jackie's notes, Jackie scanned the library, people watching. A Sophomore boy from her chemistry class was playing a video game on his computer. Liz Allen was printing something with the school printer before class started in a few minutes. Flash Thompson was standing with one of his football teammates by a bookshelf talking and receiving death glances from the librarian. Apparently Flash was very good at football and even in some talks for some college scholarships.

Something strange was happening though. Every few minutes, Flash would sneak glances over towards where Mia and Jackie were sitting. And he seemed to be staring right at Mia.

"Who are you looking at?" Mia asked following Jackie's confused gaze until her eyes fell upon Flash. Flash looked up right at that moment and their eyes met. A giant grin began to spread across Jackie's face as she saw Flash give Mia a small smirk. Mia immediately turned red and looked down quickly and then looked back up cautiously. When Mia noticed he was still looking at her, his eyes locked on her, she tucked a curl behind her ear, shot him a quick and nervous smile and then turned back to Jackie.

"So the past tense-" Mia began, but Jack quickly interrupted her.

"Um, what was that?" Jackie raised her eyebrows and gestured over to Flash and his friend. Jackie couldn't help but smile. It was the first time Mia had seemed at all flustered.

"Nothing," Mia shrugged playing it cool again.

Now it was Jackie's turn to question Mia, "No seriously! What was that?"

"I don't know!" Mia said avoiding eye contact with Jackie, "Ever since Halloween, he's just been really nice to me and we talk in our AP Spanish class sometimes. It's nothing," She assured Jackie.

"Are you sure it's nothing?" Jackie said biting her lip to try to hide her grin, "Because it doesn't seem like nothing."

"Jackie I swear to God," Mia shook her head.

"Are you sure it's not _amor_?" Jackie teased using the very little Spanish she knew.

Mia groaned loudly, covering her ears, "STOP."

"Mia and Flash sitting in an _árbol_," Jackie taunted.

"Your Spanish is honestly atrocious," Mia tried to change the subject right as the bell sounded signaling her to go to class. Mia stood quickly and grabbed her backpack. Jackie could tell she was still blushing.

"Saved by the bell, _mi amigo_!" Jackie called after her as Mia headed for the door to go to her AP Bio class that she had with Peter. Luckily she had study hall so she could keep looking at her Spanish notes.

"Oh my God stop!" Mia cried as she headed towards the door.

"This conversation is not over!" Jackie told her.

"Adiós!" Mia called back to her.

"We are going to talk about this later!" Jackie informed her knowingly.

Mia shot her a glare before heading out the door and out into the crowded library.

* * *

_The Bugle _was surprisingly less busy than normal. That is not to say that it wasn't busy. There were still journalist everywhere, rushing to make deadlines and get the latest news, but it was noticeably quieter and calmer. Everyone seemed less anxious.

"Everyone's out getting a story I guess," Betty had explained earlier when Jackie had arrived. Betty was using the slow day as a chance to paint her nails a dark red color. J. Jonah Jameson was out for the day so it was pretty much a vacation day for her. "A lot going on out there right now," she shrugged, "It happens every once and a while."

Everyone being gone meant a very boring day for Jackie though. All of the people she usually helped out, including Chris Jackson who's articles she usually practically rewrote, were out of the office.

So far she'd gone on a coffee run for Betty who'd practically begged her and answered a phone call for Betty while she was in the restroom. Now she was at an table waiting for someone to need her.

With all that had happened in the past few days, Jackie had hardly had time to focus on finding out who Big Man was and what was going on at Oscorp. Although there hadn't been any fires recently and Oscorp hadn't been in the news, Jackie knew what she had heard and she wasn't going to give up just yet. She just needed something to get the ball rolling, a lead.

Jackie perked up when she heard her last name, "Carter?" Robbie Robertson called out to her, "You busy?" He was standing next to the door in his office, smiling warmly at her.

"No!" Jackie said a little bit to quickly, standing up.

"Okay…" Robbie nodded, chuckling a little bit, "Can you come into my office?"

"Sure," Jackie agreed, following Robbie into his office. Jackie was hoping that Robbie would have something for her to do and was hoping she wasn't in trouble.

Robbie was fast becoming Jackie's favorite person at _the Bugle_. He was friendly and wise and was a kind of mentor for Jackie. He really seemed to want to help Jackie become a journalist and help her understand _the Bugle_ better which Jackie really appreciated.

"How are you doing?" He asked as he too a seat behind his desk.

"Pretty good," Jackie told him, taking a seat across from him, "Slow day today."

"Yeah," Robbie Robertson nodded, "In my experience though that usually means something big is coming. This is the calm before the storm."

"Well I hope we are all ready for the storm then," Jackie said thoughtfully.

"We usually are," Robbie told her, "That's the job." Jackie nodded. "Now," Robbie said changing the subject, "I bet you're wondering why I called you in here, right?"

"Yeah, a little," Jackie admitted.

"Well," Robbie began, "this is pretty top secret, but, Joy Mercado is out today because she got a lead about the recent fires."

"Wow," Jackie's eyes widened in excitement. That was good news! Maybe Joy knew what was going on with the fires. Maybe Jackie could let her know what was going on. Or once Joy got the interview Jackie would have a better idea of what was going on. This was really good news.

Robbie Robertson continued, "She got in contact with a resident from the apartment building where the first fire happened and is talking to him today.

"Okay," Jackie nodded, starting to wonder why Robbie was telling her this.

"And… Joy requested that you meet up with her for the interview," Robbie said starting to smile and looking at Jackie expectantly.

It took a moment for Jackie to fully understand what Robbie had just said. "Really?" Jackie said suspiciously. Robbie nodded. "She did?" Jackie questioned a little louder becoming more excited. Robbie nodded again. "I mean she said she would let me shadow but it's really happening!"

"It's really happening," Robbie nodded.

"Wow!" Jackie said in amazement, letting it sink in. It felt like the first step into a possible future for her.

"She just got the call from the lead and is heading over to meet him right now and asked me to let you know!" Robbie explained handing her a slip of paper.

"Oh my God!" Jackie squealed in excitement. Robbie chuckled and Jackie attempted to compose herself, "I mean thank you Mr. Robertson." She said in a fake professional voice and Robbie rolled his eyes.

"Here's the address," Robbie said handing her a slip of paper, "Now get going!"

Jackie immediately stood up, "Thanks you!" She called heading out of the office.

She grabbed her bag from the desk she had been sitting at previously and with the slip of paper with the address on it and phone in hand, she quickly took the elevator down to the ground floor. Plugging in the address to her phone, she saw that she was a ways away from where Joy wanted to meet. While Jackie was currently in Midtown Manhattan, Joy wanted to meat her at the lower east side of Manhattan which was much to far of a walk.

She quickly headed for the subway. Jackie had become a lot more confident about using the subway recently. Although she still liked to triple check she was getting on the right train, she could look at the subway map and not be completely lost and confused.

The whole train ride Jackie couldn't stop her excitement. It felt like the beginning of something important. The more she worked at _The Bugle_, the more she saw it as her possible future. Maybe, years from now she would look back at her first interview and how much she learned from it. Maybe Joy would let her help with writing and editing. She couldn't wait for what was to come. Knowing what she knew about Oscorp and the fires, this story could be huge. It could bring down a company. And she was a part of it. She was getting ahead of herself but it was crazy to think about her life beginning now. It also just felt good to be involved in something. It was a perfect time consuming distraction.

Jackie got off at her stop and raced to street level. She'd never been to the area before so it took her a few seconds to understand exactly where she was. The area seemed to be primarily apartments and tenements. She definitely wasn't in the nicest area. There were a lot of abandoned buildings and not too many people out seeing as it was a bleak November day. The people that were out though did not appear particularly friendly. Graffiti covered a lot of the very old brick buildings. It was still pretty light outside but Jackie wasn't sure she wanted to be walking back to the subway alone and in the dark. Hopefully Joy and her could walk back together.

Clutching her phone tightly and following its directions, she quickly (and with a fake confidence) walked in the direction of the address. Jackie was glad she'd brought the warm coat that Maggie had purchased for her because it was cold outside and she had to walk quite a few blocks to get there. She was making good time as it had only been maybe fifteen minutes since she'd left _The Bugle_. She didn't want to be late and miss anything so she picked up the pace even more.

When Jackie arrived at the address, her stomach dropped a little bit. This was not what she had expected. In between an old smashed up butcher shop and a decrepit smokey bar that reeked of alcohol, was a dilapidated apartment. The apartment building was the address Joy had given her. Several of the windows of the building were broken. Her instincts were telling her to run as fast as she possibly could away from the place. She double checked the address to make sure she was in the right place. Unless Robbie had written it down wrong though, this was it.

She had to go inside. She knew she had to. She didn't want to but if she didn't she could miss something huge. Taking a deep breathe, she opened the door and went inside. It looked exactly as she would have expected to inside. A rat ran past her and she felt sick. It was dimly lit and dirty. According to her instructions, the apartment she was supposed to go to was 415. She found the stairs and headed up quickly, wanting to find Joy as soon as possible. Joy probably hadn't even hesitated before entering. Joy was brave. Jackie just had to channel Joy.

Making her way up the fourth floor, Jackie was relieved that there was no one else to be found. However the silence was eery. Where was everybody?

Arriving on the fourth floor she headed to the very last door at the end of the hall. Again, it was too quiet. Was the whole apartment building abandoned?

The door to apartment 415 was extremely old and had seen better days. It seemed to have some water damage and was very stained and cracked. At this point though, almost nothing was a surprise about this building. Anything that could be creepy about the building was. It was like a real life haunted house. She was half expecting a man with a chainsaw to be behind the door.

Gulping, Jackie tentatively knocked on the door. She noticed she couldn't hear anything happening inside, which was weird seeing as it was an interview, which would mean that there should be talking.

No one answered the door, so after a few seconds Jackie knocked again. She was feeling slightly nauseous with fear. Again, no one answered.

Finally, in a desperate final attempt, Jackie reached for the doorknob. She was surprised to find that it was unlocked. The door slowly creaked open.

"Hello?" Jackie whispered, practically inaudibly, as the door opened.

The room (and that's all it was, a room) somehow felt colder and looked darker then outside. It was very empty apart from a cot and some clothes hung up on a string and some dirty dishes in a rusty sink.

It had to be the wrong address. It had to be. Jackie would go back to _The Bugle_ and tell Robbie that he had given her the wrong address and that she hadn't been able to find Joy. This was not how Jackie had expected her first interview to go but Robbie would probably tell her the story of his first interview and how badly it had gone to make her feel better.

She was about to turn and sprint out of the building when something on the floor, next to the cot, caught her eye.

Jackie's stomach lurched when she realized what she was looking at.

Lying unconscious on the floor was Joy Mercado. Her blonde hair was spread around her like a halo and her body looked limp.

For a few long seconds Jackie couldn't move. She wanted to run away and never look back. But she couldn't leave Joy. She wouldn't. She had to be brave, even if it was just pretend.

She didn't really feel her legs as she ran over to check on Joy. It felt more like she'd floated over. Bending over to the ground, Jackie winced. Joy had a black eye, a cut lip, a large gash on her forehead that was leaking blood and her nose had a dried blood stained around it. Jackie was relieved to notice that Joy was still breathing. Jackie didn't know where to start. She could do basic first aid but she was not equipped for a probable concussion and severe head injury.

Pulling out her cell phone, Jackie hesitated just for a moment before dialing 911. Ever since overhearing Big Man talking about the corrupt police department, she was less trusting of law enforcement. However, in this case, she didn't have any other options. She didn't know how critical Joy's condition was and she couldn't afford to loose time.

"911 what is your emergency?" A female operator answered in a chipper voice.

"I need help immediately," Jackie yelled into the phone frantically. The yell echoed through the silent halls of the empty apartment building, "I work with_ The Daily Bugle _and one of our reporters has been very injured. She's unconscious and not moving. I don't know what happened. I think she's been beaten up though and seems to have had some sort of blunt trauma to the head and maybe a closed head injury." She didn't really realize what she was saying until she'd said it. This didn't feel real to her. It was like a weirdly vivid dream. An out of body experience.

"What's the address?" the operator asked.

Jackie recited the address and then quickly asked "Is someone coming?"

"Someone is on their way right now!" The operator assured her, "What's the reporters name?"

"Joy Mercado!" Jackie explained loudly.

"Is she breathing?"

"Yes," Jackie yelled again. She wasn't sure why she was yelling. It was probably the adrenaline or the panic. She was surprised she wasn't crying.

"Okay that's good," The operator said, "Don't try and move her. You said you have no idea what happened?"

"No, I just… I just got here and she was… she was like this…" Jackie said as she paced, struggling to find the right words to explain her situation.

"Alright," The operator said calmly, "Help is on the way."

Jackie heard sirens in the distance, getting closer and closer. Her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

"Help," She heard Joy's feeble voice. Immediately, Jackie ran to Joy and dropped to her side. Without even thinking Jackie hung up the phone.

"Joy! Oh my God Joy!" Jackie cried, "Don't worry! Help is on the way," she repeated what the operator had said to her and felt a little bit more calm.

With a lot of effort, Joy opened her mouth again. Tears were pouring out of her eyes despite the fact that one was swollen and bruised shut. "M… M… Mark. Mark Rrrrraxton," Joy shivered, her whole body shaking.

"What?" Jackie wondered in confusion. She'd heard what Joy had said but had no idea what it meant. Who was Mark Raxton?

Before Jackie could say anything else though, Joy passed out again and Jackie heard the police and ambulance sirens right outside the apartment building.

* * *

Peter arrived at the scene too late to be any help.

Peter had been in midtown Manhattan when he'd heard the urgent police radio about an unconscious woman with head injuries and no explanation to what had happened. Peter didn't always respond to calls like this but it was a slow day and he wanted to see if he could do anything to help catch the offender.

He'd swung over as quick as he possibly could but it was still too late to be much help. By the time he got there, there were four NYPD cars and an ambulance surrounding the dingiest apartment building Peter had ever seen in his life in one of the worst neighborhoods in Manhattan. Standing on the roof of an old tenement building across the street, Peter took in the scene. A small crowd was surrounding the site which now being blocked off by the police. A blonde woman was being rolled out on a stretcher to the ambulance. Peter assumed this was the unconscious woman. She did not look good but it looked like she was going to be okay.

Peter took a seat on the roof of the building, his legs hanging over the side of it, in a way that would be precarious for someone who wasn't Spider-Man. It was so busy below, Peter wasn't very worried about being spotted. Even in his red and blue ensemble he was hardly the most interesting thing happening right now. He scanned the crowd as he waited to hear the description of the offender. After he heard the description he could go out and look for himself and bring the man to justice.

Assessing the scene below, Peter looked at all of the people huddled around worriedly. Scanning the crowd his eyes fell upon the back of a brunette girls head. He noticed she looked familiar. Peter's heart skipped a beat and his stomach dropped. It couldn't be, he told himself, it was impossible that it was her. From where he was he couldn't tell so he easily leapt to the next building where he could get a better angle. He let out a groan. _No_.

It was her. Talking to one of the police officers, Peter saw Jackie. She looked extremely pale and her beautiful brown eyes were wide. She was fidgeting and her forehead was glistening a little bit with sweat. There was a little bit of blood on her hands. She looked like she was in shock.

Immediately, Peter was angry. He wasn't sure what or who he was angry at but his fists formed tight balls and his jaw locked. He wanted to kick or hit something. He hated the thought of anyone he cared about in danger. What was Jackie doing there? She was supposed to be at _The Bugle _headquarters. Not on the lower east side in a sketchy neighborhood as a witness to a crime. Why would she be here?

Peter automatically thought of the worst. Jackie appeared to be physically fine, at least better off then the blonde woman but had she been in the room when the woman had been beaten. She was just starting to heal from her mothers death. Had she been threatened? He couldn't even imagine Jackie going into the awful building that she was currently stood in front of. Peter would catch the man or woman that had done this.

He had to keep his cool and stop himself from going down there as Spider-Man and sweeping Jackie away from all of this. He wanted to take her away from it all.

If he didn't know what was going on as soon as possible he was going to drive himself crazy guessing. He had to get down there and hear what was happening.

It was dark out and the street was very dimly lit besides all of the police activity, so Peter was fairly confident he wouldn't be seen as he swung across the street onto the roof of an abandoned butcher shop that was next to the awful apartment building and close to where Jackie was talking to the cop. Being Spider-Man, all of Peter's senses were heightened, including hearing. Focusing on Jackie and the cop, he easily picked up what they were saying.

"You didn't see anyone?" The police officer questioned seriously. He was young. Peter had grown to recognize and know many of the current NYPD officers but he didn't recognize this man.

"No," Peter heard Jackie say. It didn't really sound like her though. She sounded distant. "It was the weirdest thing but the building seemed practically empty when I got there."

The officer scribbled down what she had said, "Do you know who Ms. Mercado was interviewing?" The cop asked her. Peter remembered Jackie mentioning Joy Mercado, the reporter from _The Bugle_. He'd seen her name in the paper a number of times. That must have been who the blonde woman was.

Swallowing Jackie shook her head, looking around. She seemed nervous around the cop. "Um, not specifically. It was a resident from one of the buildings in Manhattan that caught on fire earlier in the month. I was told Joy thought she might have a lead on the story. I'm an intern at _The Daily Bugle_ and I was going to sit in with her. When I got here the door was open and she was unconscious." She spoke very clearly despite her obvious discomfort.

The officer noted what she had once again and then asked, "Did Ms. Mercado have any possessions with her when she got here, like a phone or wallet?"

"I don't know, I was meeting her here. We didn't come over together. But I didn't see a phone or a wallet when I got there." Jackie answered. Peter was starting to understand the situation a little more and was thankful that it sounded like Jackie had missed most of the action He still was not close to being okay with the situation though.

If anything had happened to her… Peter couldn't even bring himself to think about what would have happened if she'd showed up earlier or if person who had beat Joy had still been there. Jackie was safe but that wasn't enough to stop Peter from feeling troubled and anxious.

"We sent someone to check out her apartment and it's been broken into and it looks like things have been stolen. I wouldn't be surprised if her phone and wallet and notes were stolen too," the cop explained thoughtfully.

"You said Ms. Mercado regained consciousness for a few seconds," the police man wondered, "Did she say anything to you?"

"No," Jackie didn't hesitate but knowing Jackie, she seemed off. Peter decided it was probably just that she had become a witness in a crime.

The police officer gave her a sympathetic smile, "You are going to have to come down to the station with us but is there someone we can call for you? Where are your parents." As a member of the dead parents club, Peter hated this question.

Jackie closed her eyes and said, "Call my older sister, Maggie Carter. She is my legal guardian"

After she'd recited Maggie's number, the cop didn't ask her any more questions but escorted her to a nearby cop car. She obliged as she was told to sit in the back of the car, where the criminals usually sat. The whole scene was so ridiculous to Peter. It was like a nightmare that he desperately wanted to wake up from.

Part of him was upset with Jackie. Hadn't Jackie known better then to go into the dangerous looking building in the bad neighborhood all alone. The other part of him though just wanted to be there for her and let her know that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't do that without her asking a lot of questions about how he knew, so he held back. Standing on the roof of the butcher shop though and watching her in the back of a cop car made him feel helpless. And if there was one thing Peter hated, it was feeling helpless.

As the police car pulled out and headed in the direction of the police station, Peter swung behind the car. Although a part of him thought about staying behind to get more information, he wanted to make sure Jackie got to the police station and that Maggie or Elliot arrived to get her first.

* * *

"Go upstairs and go to bed right now," Maggie instructed as Elliot parked the car in front of the house, "You've had a long night and you've got school tomorrow." She said matter of factly.

"What about homework?" Jackie protested, thinking of her Spanish test. It had been such a long day that it was hard to believe that just a few hours ago she'd been studying for her Spanish test with Mia.

"I'll email them and tell them you were a little bit caught up at the police station after become a crime scene witness," Maggie said bitterly. Jackie felt bad for Maggie. Obviously, Maggie being Maggie felt like it was her fault. At first she tried to tell Jackie that she couldn't work at _The Bugle_ anymore but Elliot had talked her off of that subject for now. Jackie was so grateful that Elliot was always so calm in situations of stress because Maggie was not very good at keeping calm.

After the police had come, Jackie had been questioned a lot. She'd been examined by a doctor who determined she was okay besides the shock. She'd watched as Joy was driven off in an ambulance. She told her story several times to several different law enforcement officers and detectives, each time being very careful with the details. She wasn't sure which cops she could trust and which ones she couldn't. She'd been taken to the station in the back of the cop car and hung out in an empty room for a while before she was questioned and then Maggie and Elliot had arrived. Jackie was updated that Joy was doing okay but that it was good that Jackie had called 911 when she did or it would have been much worse. Somehow J. Jonah Jameson had contacted her, and explained that they were writing a story about Joy and that they wanted some quotes from Jackie (she felt guilty for being a little excited about the idea of being quoted in a newspaper). The cops had kept her there for a few hours until finally at 11 at night she was finally released after giving the police all of her information.

It had been a very odd, scary night.

Now, after the initial shock of the situation and trying to make sure Joy actually lived, Jackie was just left wondering how and why. She couldn't shake the feeling that the attack wasn't random. Jackie felt certain that Joy's attack was because she was getting a lead on the fire story. Jackie thought that maybe it was possible that Big Man had been a part of the attack. Jackie shivered a little bit. Big Man had talked about what could happen if someone crossed him. Seeing Joy attacked made that threat even more real.

If anything good had come of the day, it was the name Mark Raxton. She wasn't sure if she should have told the cops the name or not but had decided on no until she knew who Mark Raxton was. She couldn't wait to get upstairs and Google the name.

"We'll talk about this more tomorrow," Maggie said as they walked up the stoop towards the front door, "But are you sure you are okay?" Maggie's voice was laced with worry and she sounded like she might cry again.

"Yes, I'm just tired" Jackie lied as Elliot unlocked the door. They all filed into the house, first Elliot, then Jackie, then Maggie. Jackie was thankful to be in a safe, warm and familiar place.

"Are you sure Jackie? Because I can-" Maggie started from behind Jackie.

"I'm going to go get ready for bed, okay?" Jackie cut her off, turning around to face Maggie with a fake smile.

"Okay…" Maggie nodded attempting to return Jackie's smile, as she unravelled the scarf from around her neck and hung it up on a nearby hook.

Take a few quick steps forwards Jackie wrapped her arms around Maggie in a tight embrace. "I love you Maggie," Jackie whispered.

"Love you too Jackie," Maggie said patting her back. As they released each other Jackie noticed fully how exhausted Maggie looked and sounded and Jackie immediately felt even more guilty.

"You should go to bed soon too!" Jackie instructed Maggie, she then yelled to Elliot who was already in the kitchen, "Make sure she sleeps Elliot!"

"Got it Jackie," Elliot called to her, "Making her bedtime tea as we speak."

"You are too perfect," Jackie yelled back to him grinning. She gave Maggie one last quick smile before darting up the stairs.

After a quick shower, Jackie changed into pajama shorts, tank top, and a light sweater and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. The house was already quiet and she was pretty sure that Elliot and Maggie were already asleep. Jackie pulled out her laptop and typed _Mark Raxton_ into the Google bar. Several results came up but nothing super obvious. She began to scroll looking at recent news but nothing was coming up. She could feel herself already getting engrossed in the search. Now that she had something to go off of, a lead, she had to follow up for Joy.

She switched to _The Bugle _database and she typed in the name again. One result came up. Eagerly Jackie clicked on the link. It was an article about the growing robotics program at Oscorp. Immediately Jackie felt uneasy. Jackie scrolled through the article searching for them name. And then she saw it. Under a picture of a young man in an Oscorp lab coat a blurb read _"Lab assistant Mark Raxton pictured above as he works on a new project." _He appeared to be in his mid twenties and had dark blonde hair. He had a slight smile as he worked on a robot of some sort. Behind him though, an older man stood, watching over Mark Raxton's shoulder intently. He had one hand on Mark's shoulder, almost like a proud father. The other man wasn't named. The article was from five months ago.

Jackie knew she had to somehow track Mark Raxton down and figure out why Joy had said his name. Had he been the one she had been meeting with? Had he been the attacker? Jackie's mind raced with possibilities as she stared at he picture of him.

Suddenly she heard two taps on her window and almost screamed when she saw a figure on the roof outside her second story window.

"Oh my God," Jackie cried out, jumping and putting her hand to her heart. Her first thought was that whoever had attacked Joy had found her. Maybe Big Man or one of his henchmen. Maybe Mark Raxton She was about to scream out for help when she realized it was Peter, waiting to be let in.

Closing her laptop before running to the window, she quickly pushed it up to let him in, her heart still beating fast, "Peter! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Jackie scolded in a hushed tone.

Peter climbed in to her room agilely, making no noise at all. It was really impressive actually how easy he made it look. He straightened up and Jackie tried to decipher his emotions but she couldn't quite read him. He looked very somber and almost mad. She had never seen him like this before.

"What were you thinking?" Peter demanded in a quiet, low, voice.

Jackie was too distracted to answer his question though. Maggie and Elliot were sleeping just across the hall land after everything that had happened that night, finding a boy in her bedroom might just send Maggie over the edge.

Jackie whispered back, "What the hell are you doing Peter? How did you get up here?" That was another part of the equation Jackie couldn't figure out. It was at least a twenty foot jump or climb to get up to the window.

"You could have gotten hurt," Peter snapped back, ignoring her question too, he began pacing, running his hand through his hair.

"We are on the second story!" Jackie exclaimed in disbelief gesturing to the window at the pavement so far below.

"How did you think that it was a good idea to go into that building? I thought you were smarter than that!" Peter questioned his voice raising a little bit. His fists are clenched tight and his jaw is set.

Jackie shushed him and then asked, "Did you climb a tree? Is there a ladder down there that I don't know about?"

"It was so… so… irresponsible of you!" Peter was getting to the point where he was having trouble forming complete sentences. She could see a sense of desperation and urgency in his eyes.

Jackie gave a loud sigh, "How do you even know what happened?"

"Aunt May told me," Peter said easily, but Jackie was unsure of his answer.

"How did May know?" She asked, confused.

"I don't know, I guess Maggie told her or something," Peter said absentmindedly and then told her sternly, "Don't change the subject!"

"I was just wondering!" Jackie told him indignantly folding her arms over her chest, "And not that I don't love being lectured about how stupid and irresponsible I am but is there a reason why you are here Peter?" She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Well since you seem to have no regard for your own safety-" Peter started but Jackie cut him off.

"Why are you being like this?" Jackie asked, not backing down and shaking her head in disbelief of how Peter was talking to her.

"Like what Jackie? What am I being like?" He questioned bitterly. He'd stopped pacing now and was standing right in front of her just a few feet away.

"You are being a huge jerk!" Jackie told him bluntly before asking, "Do you even care about my side of the story?"

All Peter did was shrug and Jackie let out a groan of exasperation, "I was meeting Joy Mercado there to work on a story for _The Bugle_. I knew it wasn't a great neighborhood but I was supposed to be meeting Joy there. I wasn't expecting to walk in on her unconscious! And then I couldn't very well just leave her there could I? What was I supposed to do?" She asked him seriously, "Huh Peter? What do you think I should have done since you are apparently so much smarter than me? Should I have just left Joy there?"

"There are other people that could have helped," Peter told her, shrugging again.

Jackie scoffed at how unreasonable Peter was being, "Yeah but they weren't there Peter. I was. And I'm glad I was. Joy might be dead if I hadn't shown up."

"What if they had hurt you too?" Peter wondered bitterly meeting her eyes finally. Her anger began to slip away when she saw how upset he was. He was just worried about her. She began to feel guilty. Although it wasn't her fault, she'd been making Peter feel bad for caring about her.

"Peter…" Jackie started but didn't know what else to say.

There was a long silence before Peter finally said, "I just…" Jackie could see Peter's tough guy act crumbling down, "I don't like thinking of you in danger. I don't want to loose more people." He closed his eyes like he was in pain over the thought of her hurt.

Jackie couldn't help it anymore and closed the distance between them in a hug. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. At first he seemed surprised and stiffened but she then felt him loosen and wrap her arms around her waist tightly and protectively. For the first time in a long while, she felt safe. They stayed like that for a few seconds. Jackie could feel his heart beating.

"You are not going to loose me Peter, I promise." Jackie finally assured him quietly as she unwrapped herself from his arms and he let go of his grip around her waist, "And I'm sorry if I worried you."

Peter let out a large sigh, taking a step back, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk," his tone was much more gentle now and he scratched the back of his neck and he seemed embarrassed and guilty, "I wasn't even angry at you. I was just mad at everything you've been through and that I couldn't be there to stop it."

"I know," Jackie nodded. And she did. She understood where Peter was coming from. If it had been Peter, she probably would have acted the same way, "But there's nothing you could have done."

Peter looked as if he was going to say something but stopped himself, "Are you okay?" Peter asked finally, looking at her intently with his big, dumb, brown eyes.

She responded, "I think so. A little shaken up but I just hope Joy is okay."

"Ok," Peter nodded seriously, "Tell me if you need anything."

"I will," Jackie told him with a small smile before changing the subject, "Ok seriously how did you get up here?"

"I have my ways," Peter shrugged.

"Could you be a little more vague?" Jackie said narrowing her eyes at him mockingly.

"Probably," He nodded laughing a little bit, now he changed the subject, "So this is your bedroom," He said looking around the room. Jackie had unpacked a little bit mainly because of Maggie's insisting. She'd unpacked all of her books and had a white dresser and desk and a mirror in the corner. Except for a small picture on her desk of she, Maggie and her mom there were no pictures.

"This is it," Jackie scanned the room too, hoping she hadn't left anything embarrassing out, "Its a work in progress." For a moment the thought crossed her mind that she'd never had _a boy_ in her room before, but she pushed the thought away, it was just Peter after all.

There was a brief silence before Jackie decided, "You should probably get going. Maggie and Elliot would probably freak out if they heard us."

"Probably a good idea," Peter agreed, "You should get some rest."

"I will," Jackie promised. Her research of Mark Raxton could wait until tomorrow.

Peter began to walk towards the window, "You can use the front door," Jackie suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?" Peter questioned chuckling, before pointing out "Also I don't want to wake up Maggie and Elliot."

"Okay, but I swear to God if you hurt yourself jumping off this roof-" Jackie threatened.

"I'll be fine," Peter chuckled walking towards the window. Jackie watched fixedly to see how Peter had reached her window.

"Jackie?" Peter asked, right before climbing out the window.

"What?" She wondered in a hushed voice.

"Cute pajamas," He teased with a boyish grin.

"Get out," Jackie rolled her eyes, grabbing a nearby pillow and tossing it at him. Peter easily caught it and tossed it back at her. It hit her square in the face and she heard him laugh. By the time she'd composed herself though Peter had already disappeared from the roof and when she ran to the window, she saw him walking back across the street and heading towards his house. Shutting the window, she shook her head in confusion of how Peter had managed to get to her window.

Of all the things that had happened that day though, it was hardly the strangest and so she let it go as she turned off the lights and collapsed into bed.

* * *

**A/N: **here is me casually updating around 5 months late! First I was really busy with my summer jobs and then I went back to school (abroad!) and I've been really busy traveling around and doing homework and stuff but recently I missed writing and wanted to update this! I hope you like it (if anyone is still even interested lol)

Thanks as always to **Nellie** (as always), **Dafishindasea, thesameoldfearsx**, **The girl with no life, Nightingale agent of the dark, TheHauntedKeyboard, and Singer of Water** for your reviews! I love getting email updates that people have reviewed. It usually guilts me into writing :)

For those that do review and favorite, I'm so sorry it takes me so long to update sometimes (most of the time) I'm just usually pretty busy with life and being a college student but I really do appreciate you taking time to read/review/favorite the story!

Let me know what you think of the chapter. Some crazy stuff going on with Jackie and Peter and Joy and maybe Flash and Mia?!

Also last thing: if you hadn't noticed, every chapter of this story is named after a song and if there is any interest in me posting the playlist I listen to which has the names of the titles and is my inspiration while I'm writing let me know!


	12. Chapter 12: Can't Pretend

Thanksgiving had always been Jackie's favorite holiday.

She had always loved waking up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV and then helping her mom and Maggie in the kitchen and then sitting down and eating and talking. After they ate she and her mom and Maggie would always walk to a theater to go see a movie and digest all of the food they'd just eaten.

Due to their lack of extended family, it had always just been the three of them. And then when Maggie had met Elliot, she'd gone to his house for Thanksgiving, and it had just been Jackie and her mom, but she had never minded.

This year would obviously be different though but Jackie actually wasn't dreading it and was determined to make the best of the holiday.

Besides being in New York instead of San Francisco and her mother not being there to celebrate, this year would also be different because college applications were due during Thanksgiving break.

She'd met with Mr. Navarro and he'd approved her essay, complimented her writing and praised her for her honesty. She'd gotten Mr. Vierra to fill out a teacher recommendation and despite not know her chemistry teacher Dr. Bard very well, he'd filled one out for her too. Mr. Navarro had submitted his counselor recommendation form. She had filled out the Common App and submitted her SAT scores. Now all that was left was to choose the schools she wanted to apply to and then wait. She was planning on applying to several schools due to how rushed her application process had been but was planning on visiting some of the schools with Maggie later.

Jackie had been given some time off at _The Bugle_ due to the Joy Mercado situation. She'd received a call from Betty on behalf of J. Jonah Jameson (although she suspected that it was really thanks to Robbie) telling her to take until after Thanksgiving off. Although she didn't want to miss anything she appreciated the time off. Betty had been keeping her updated about Joy who apparently had no recollection of what had happened. Physically Joy was feeling much better but she'd suffered from amnesia.

Jackie had felt a little bit sick when she'd first heard that. She'd been so hopeful that she could finally confide in someone about what she knew about Oscorp and Big Man and now Mark Raxton but that was no longer an option and she didn't want to put Joy in more danger.

The time off had allowed Jackie to focus on her college application and Mia and Jackie's government project which was finally due. Jackie was not very stressed about the project compared to everything else going on in her busy life. Even though it was the majority of their grade, Mia had kept the project so organized and on track that they'd finished it a week early.

Jackie hadn't been able to look into too much detail about Mark Raxton but once her college applications were turned in, she was planning on spending most of her Thanksgiving break researching him.

Government was Mia and Jackie's last class before the start of Thanksgiving break. The whole class all of the students were very distracted with the hour and twenty minute class separating them from their four days of vacation. Luckily Ms. Nichols seemed to understand this and had put on a movie about the Supreme Court.

When they'd handed over their paper to Ms. Nichols at the end of the class, she'd flipped through a few pages and read a few lines before looking up at Jackie and Mia and beaming and saying, "Looks good ladies! Have a good break"

"I'm glad that's over with," Jackie said the moment they stepped outside the classroom. Although she didn't hate government and had become friends with Mia through the project, the due date had been looming over her head for so long that it felt like a huge weight finally being lifted off her shoulders now that the project was turned in.

"Me too," Mia nodded before teasing, "Now I can stop hanging out with you."

"Thank God!" Jackie agreed sarcastically then changing the subject asked, "Do you want to come over later? I'm going to finish my applications and then I think Peter and I are going to celebrate by watching a movie and eating a bunch of junk food."

"That sounds like fun but I can't, my mom and I are starting food prep for Thanksgiving," Mia explained and Jackie nodded in understanding, then Mia pursed her lips, "Can I ask you something, and you have to promise not to get mad at me?"

A little nervous abut Mia's phrasing, Jackie agreed anyways, "Okay, sure."

"What's going on with you and Peter?" Mia wondered aloud.

"What?" Jackie questioned, genuinely not understanding.

"Well…" Mia started, "You and Peter… I don't know you two are just so close and you spend so much time together and then there was the storm and I just think that you both work really well together and-"

Jackie cut her off, "Oh my God Mia! Peter and I are just friends, there's nothing going on between us," she exclaimed in surprise.

There wasn't anything going on between her and Peter. Why would Mia think that? Peter and Jackie were friends. Good friends. Really good friends. And yeah Peter was cute and the nicest guy Jackie had ever met and she could hang out with him all the time but she didn't want to go out with him. She didn't want to go out with him. Right?

"Ok but you never thought about being more than friends?" Mia pushed, raising her eyebrows.

Jackie briefly thought back to their fight the other night after the Joy Mercado incident. She thought about how her heart had almost skipped a beat when he'd told her that he didn't want to loose her. She didn't even know that was actually possible for a heart to skip a beat. She thought about their hug and how much she'd cared about him in that moment.

"I mean we've never talked about it," Jackie told her honestly "We're friends. I don't know I guess I know that we go together really well but I just don't want to mess everything up, you know? He's so good to me and we're happy just being friends I think." Suddenly Jackie was so unsure. She liked Peter. Of course she _liked_ Peter. Even though it had only been a few months he was probably the best friends she had ever had. But did she like him as more than a friend?

"Ok," Mia accepted Jackie's answer, "But just friends don't look at each other the way Peter looks at you," Mia said knowingly and for a second Jackie believed her. But it was Peter. Peter didn't look at her any special way did he? He had been nothing but nice to her since she'd arrived. He'd never tried to make a move or anything like that.

"What-" Jackie began to question but was cut off by a new familiar voice.

"Hey Mia," both girls turned to see Flash Thompson at his locker. Upon seeing him Mia immediately began to blush.

"Flash! I mean hi! How are you?" Mia sounded flustered which was very amusing to Jackie, who couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. Flash didn't even seem to notice Jackie there and his eyes were completely fixated on Mia.

"I'm fine," Flash nodded contentedly, "Got any plans for Thanksgiving?"

Mia nodded, "Yeah I'm watching the parade and doing appetizers with my Mom and her boyfriend and actual Thanksgiving dinner with my Dad and his side of the family."

"That sounds good," Flash told her. Knowing Flash's home life situation, Jackie couldn't help feeling a little bad that he probably wasn't going to have such a nice Thanksgiving. Flash seemed to notice Jackie for the first time and his eyes widened a little, "Oh hey Jackie, I didn't see you there."

"That's okay," Jackie assured him, "Mia is pretty captivating, isn't she?" Flash smirked and Mia glared at her, making Jackie laugh. She began stepping away from the pair, "I'm going to go catch up with Peter," she informed them, nodding over to where Peter had just appeared at the end of the hallway, standing at Jackie's locker, waiting. She felt like she was being a third wheel to Flash and Mia and needed a quick exit.

"Hey," Jackie greeted Peter as she reached him.

"Why is Flash talking to Mia?" Peter asked not even saying hello back. He was looking over Jackie and right at Flash and Mia. Jackie turned to see what exactly he was seeing. Flash was leaning against his locker now and nodding along and smiling along while Mia was laughing and animatedly explaining a story. Jackie couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know," Jackie answered truthfully, "I think he likes her though."

"Flash?" Peter asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes!" Jackie nodded.

"That's… that is just so… I can't believe… that is ridiculous," Peter ran his hand mindlessly though his hair, unable to even fully string together sentences in his annoyance at the thought of Flash and Mia.

"What?" Jackie wondered in confusion, not understanding Peter's annoyance, "Mia is beautiful and smart and-"

"Exactly! She's way too good for him," Peter announced as if it was a fact, and then bending down in a quiet voice Peter asked,"You don't think she likes him too do you?"

"I don't know," Jackie shrugged nonchalantly, finding Peter's protectiveness endearing and amusing, "It's too early to tell I think."

"He's a total jerk," Peter shook his head.

"I think he's trying to change Peter," Jackie informed him and then remembered, "He apologized to me on Halloween, he told me he's been going through some stuff at home and lashed out but that he felt bad. He seemed pretty genuine."

"I'm sure he did," Peter rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. He looked like a little kid and Jackie had to bite her lip to stop from smiling.

"Just let Mia feel it out, okay Peter?" Jackie told him, "She's smart."

"Fine, but he can't eat lunch with us," Peter informed Jackie, in a very matter of fact way.

Jackie laughed, "Wow, when did we become so exclusive?" Peter also couldn't help but smile at this and Jackie was glad to see that although he was annoyed at Flash, he wasn't actually mad.

Giving Flash and Mia one last look, Peter turned back to Jackie and chaining the subject asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," Jackie nodded. She quickly pulled on her coat and getting her gloves ready. Peter was already wearing his jacket and a hat.

"Should we wait for Mia?" Peter wondered suddenly.

Turning to see Mia and Flash still talking, Jackie decided, "No I think she'll be okay. I'll text her we took off" Jackie quickly sent Mia a text saying that she and Peter were leaving and then also texted her_ just friends don't look at each other the way Flash looks at you ;)_

Peter shrugged trying to pretend it didn't bother him but it obviously did.

The pair turned and walked towards the exit door down the hall.

"You turned in your gov project right?" Peter remembered.

"Yeah! It's so good to have it over with! Now its pretty much smooth sailing until finals." Jackie nodded happily, "What about you? How was your calculus test?"

"I think it went okay," Peter said humbly.

"So you aced it then?" Jackie asked. Peter had a tendency to underplay his genius.

"I think so," Peter nodded as he opened the door.

Jackie was hit by a gust of cold air and shivered, "Oh my god it's so cold!" she cried out as they stepped outside. It was cold but was not snowing. It was very grey and dark now. She then smiled thinking of something, "November? More like Novemburrr. Get it. Like burr… what you say when you are cold. Because it's November and it's cold. So Novemburrrrr."

"I get it," Peter said rolling his eyes, trying to pretend like he didn't think it was funny.

"Are you sure you get it?" Jackie questioned, and then she repeated as they walked, "Novemburrrrrrrr!"

"You are such a dork," Peter said shaking his head and laughing and Jackie shoved him a little. She remembered for a moment what she and Mia had been talking about earlier. Everything was so easy with Peter. With Peter she could let go and be happy and a dork. She didn't worry about him judging her. She wanted to hang out with him all the time because for the most part he made her happy. She wasn't sure what that meant or made their relationship but she knew that it would be really hard if something went wrong.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she quickly asked, "Hey, I never asked what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

Peter scratched the back of his head, "Ugh… I don't know actually… Aunt May and I will probably just have a quiet small lunch and… I don't know really. We haven't talked too much about it yet," He confessed.

"You should come over!" Jackie told him without thinking. Peter immediately opened his mouth but Jackie interrupted him before he could say no, "Elliot is for sure going to cook too much for the three of us and Maggie loves Aunt May so I'm sure she'd be fine with it!" She told him honestly.

Peter pursed his lips, "I don't know, I wouldn't want us to intrude," He told her, seeming unsure.

"It would be fine Peter," Jackie assured him knowingly, "I can ask Maggie first if that makes you feel better but you know her, she is going to say yes."

"I mean, _if_ she says yes… I guess that would be pretty cool," Peter said smiling a little bit which warmed Jackie's heart. She knew Thanksgiving couldn't be easy for him. His parents and his Uncle Ben were all gone and now it made Jackie sad to think of just him and May alone on Thanksgiving.

"Yes it _will_ be," Jackie corrected.

She asked Maggie the second she got home if Peter and May could join them for Thanksgiving and as expected, Maggie had said yes very enthusiastically. Jackie had texted Peter who said that May was already in a fit of baking which made Jackie laugh.

With Maggie's help, Jackie finished her applications for college. She'd applied to seven schools including Empire State, UC San Francisco, NYU, Hunter College, Pace University, The New School and Hofstra. All the schools that Mr. Navarro had recommended and then UC San Fransisco for her Mom. She wondered if she was making the right choice applying to almost only New York schools, but her family was here now, it was her home.

It wasn't as dramatic, fulfilling or momentous as Jackie had thought it would be. She'd just clicked a button and they'd all been sent and then she'd received an email confirmation that they'd _really _been sent in. It made her very anxious to know the results. She wanted to know immediately where she'd gotten in so that she could start planning.

Turning in her applications made everything feel more real. Unless every school rejected her (which was a thought that she wasn't allowing herself to dwell on), she was going to college at one of those seven schools, which was pretty exciting.

"I'm so proud of you kid," Maggie said, her eyes watering a little bit.

"Thanks Mags," Jackie smiled, "Couldn't have done it without you."

* * *

The doorbell rang at exactly noon.

"They're here!" Jackie called to no one in particular as she jumped off the couch where she'd been watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade to open the door.

She was greeted by Peter and Aunt May at the door. May was dressed up, wearing a beautiful blue sweater with matching earrings. She was beaming. Peter was wearing a nice shirt with jeans. His hair was still a mess but he'd obviously tried, which Jackie thought was very sweet. He was also carrying two pies and some sort of casserole.

"Hello!" She welcomed them, "Come in! Come in!"

"Hello dear," May said giving Jackie a tight hug before she entered the house, "Are we too early? We could come back later."

"No it's fine!" Jackie assured May, "Maggie and I have been watching the parade but she's upstairs getting ready now and Elliot's in the kitchen. He's been cooking since six a.m.! Well technically I guess he started yesterday but he's in quite the frenzy so beware."

Both Maggie and Elliot had been really busy and Jackie had been doing her best to help. While watching the parade, Jackie and Maggie had been cleaning and decorating. Elliot had been cooking and the whole house smelled of turkey and stuffing and Jackie was beginning to get hungry.

"I'll put these in the kitchen," Peter said holding up the tupperware in the hand and sliding past Jackie and Aunt May, heading towards the kitchen.

"May!" Maggie greeted, from the top of the stairs, "So nice to see you! I'm so happy you're here"

"Thank you so much for inviting us," May grinned, giving Maggie a hug, "Can I help with anything? My your house looks lovely!"

"Thank you," Maggie said blushing a little bit, "And I think Elliot's got it but thank you! I'm so sorry we didn't think to invite you sooner. I think this will be fun though."

"I do too," May nodded in agreement.

"Come sit down," Maggie invited her. Both of them moved to the couch to watch the parade where a marching band was currently performing.

Jackie moved to the kitchen where Peter was currently attempting to reorganize the refrigerator to fit the pies.

"How's it going Elliot?" Jackie questioned.

"We're right on track with everything I think," Elliot informed her. He was currently bent over the stove stirring a pan, "I just need to finish the cranberry sauce and then we just need to wait two more hours for the Turkey to finish and we're good to go."

"How are the sweet potatoes looking?" Jackie questioned about her favorite dish.

"Pretty amazing if I do say so myself," Elliot told her.

"I don't know what we'd do without you Elliot," Jackie smiled at him with appreciation.

"Order Chinese probably," Elliot grinned.

"Very true," Jackie nodded in agreement.

Peter was done reorganizing the fridge and Jackie turned to him, "Hey stranger," She greeted him with a smile.

"Fine," Peter shrugged, "Thanks again for inviting us. It's been all that May could talk about all day. 'Are they allergic to anything?' 'do they eat gluten?' 'I hope we're not being a burden!' 'that Jackie is just so kind.'" Peter mimicked Aunt May, making Jackie laugh. After a moment he added, "Um… you look… you look really nice by the way. I mean not that you don't normally look nice. You are a very nice looking person… but today you look… especially nice," He rambled nervously. It was an old dress that she hadn't worn in a long time because it was strapless and showed her scars. She'd been wearing a cardigan early but with all the cooking, the house had gotten warmer and she'd forgot to put it back on.

"Thanks," Jackie blushed a little bit, "You look nice too."

Elliot let out a small cough, reminding them that he was still in the room with them and had heard their entire conversation. Elliot sent Jackie a little wink which made her roll her eyes at him.

"Um… do you want to go watch the parade?" Jackie asked quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah, sure!" Peter nodded, seeming to want to move on too.

They joined Aunt May and Maggie in the living room area where they were exchanging stories, May about patients and Maggie about her students. Peter and Jackie didn't really talk and instead opted for just listening. Every once and awhile their eyes would meet and they would both smile and look away.

"Food is ready in ten minutes," Elliot called from the kitchen.

"I'll go see if he needs any help," May suggested, standing and heading towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to go set the table," Maggie said, standing.

"Need any help?" Peter asked starting to get up.

"No don't worry about it! I got it!" Maggie assured him.

"Okay," Peter nodded settling back down onto the couch.

Once both women had left the room, a silence fell over the room. Jackie wasn't sure why things were all of a sudden so weird between the two or why they were tiptoeing around each other. Maybe it was because of what Mia had said or how Peter had complemented her or how they had been looking at each other for the past two hours but looking at Peter though, made Jackie want to tell him about everything that had been going on with Big Man and _the Daily Bugle_ and Oscorp.

"I'm going to get some air," Jackie announced standing, "Do you want to come?"

"Sure," Peter agreed standing as well.

Jackie grabbed her jacket and slipped it on as they exited the house. Reaching the porch, Jackie crossed her arms and looked out at the cold grey sky. Despite it being only around 3 o'clock, it was already very dark outside and although it didn't look like a storm, it looked inexplicably ominous.

Turning to face Peter who was leaning against the porch railing, Jackie gave him a weak smile. She was going to tell him. She couldn't help but wonder what he would think and question if he would believe her or not. She had to admit, the whole thing sounded insane. But maybe he could help. He knew a lot about Oscorp and was much better at science than Jackie was. As much as she didn't want to endanger Peter, she trusted that he would know what to do and would help her out.

"Peter?" She said, her heartbeat suddenly racing.

"Yes?" Peter questioned.

She took a deep breath, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something and I don't really know how to start but–" she stopped, realizing that Peter's stance had changed. His arms were tense and he was looking desperate. He looked alarmed and on high alert all of a sudden, like he had at the cafe a month ago, like he'd seen something that Jackie hadn't. Jackie looked around trying to see if there was anything that could be troubling him so much but the street was completely empty. "Earth to Peter? You okay Pete?" She questioned worriedly.

"Uhh… I've… I've got to go…" He said moving towards the stairs.

"What?" Jackie said taking a few steps towards him, feeling very alarmed at the suddenness of his exit, "What are you talking about? Go where?"

"I'm-I'm- I'm sorry I just… I have to go," Peter said holding his hands up in defense, like he was being forced into leaving and didn't have a choice.

Jackie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was about to tell him about Oscorp and Big Man and _the Daily Bugle _and everything, and yet here he was, still not trusting her and not telling her what was going on with him. Where did he always go? Why couldn't he tell her?

"Peter its Thanksgiving, we're about to eat! Where are you going? What's gong on?" She caught his arm as Peter began to turn to go but he quickly broke free of her grasp with considerable force, "Why do you always leave?" Her voice broke a little bit as tears began to well up in her eyes and she was suddenly mad at herself for letting him have such a strong impact on her. She needed to be stronger.

"Just don't worry about it Jackie!" Peter snapped with a heavy sigh, Jackie's took a step back at his harsh words and hung her head in defeat. "I'm sorry… It's just… I just… I have to go."

"Peter!" Jackie cried out to him, but this time he didn't stop and broke out into a jog and headed down the street. Jackie watched him until he disappeared around the corner. His excuse was so lame that he wasn't even pretending to go home for his headache.

Tears slipped out of her eyes as she replayed what had just happened in her head. He had been so serious and urgent. It was obviously something very serious but his demeanor had changed so suddenly. It was alarming to see this other side of Peter. She wanted to be close to him, and yet he would do things like this where he would push her away or make it very clear that he was hiding things from her.

Jackie suddenly heard the door behind her open and immediately knew she had to stop crying. She quickly wiped away a few tears and plastered a smile on her face, she'd become good at hiding her tears.

"There you are!" Maggie said excitedly behind her, "Wow its freezing out here! Everything is ready!" She explained, "Where's Peter?" she suddenly wondered.

"He had to go," Jackie said in a detached voice, looking out at the street.

"Go where?" Maggie questioned.

"He said he was having a really bad headache and didn't feel hungry but if he felt better later he would join us," Jackie lied, not turning around. She hated lying for Peter. She hated that she would have to see Aunt May's face fall when she told her that Peter was having headaches, because May knew that Peter's sudden exits and excuses were not real too. Jackie knew she did. May was smart.

"Oh no," Maggie said disappointedly, "That's too bad!"

"Yeah," Jackie nodded, "It is too bad."

"Are you coming in?" Maggie wondered still standing in the doorway.

"Yeah just give me a second," Jackie requested.

"Okay," Maggie said sounding slightly concerned but returning inside.

Jackie shivered a little bit and sniffled, knowing she needed to compose herself before going back inside. She couldn't help but feel a little betrayed by Peter. Even though she hadn't officially told him everything, she had been just about to before he'd run off. How was it that she trusted and wanted to confide in Peter so much and he still wouldn't give her an honest answer to where he was going?

Things were going to have to change. Jackie was going to have to stop accepting his lies and she was going to have to confront him to find out the truth.

* * *

It always started with a tingling feeling at the base of his skull.

Peter could never quite understand or explain how or why, but whenever there was danger he seemed to know. And whenever he got closer to the crime scene, the tingling got stronger. It guided him and helped his instincts so that he could act preemptively. Although it wasn't perfect or an exact science, Peter considered these "spider-senses," as he had dubbed them, to be his greatest strength.

Somehow, as he swung towards Manhattan, he knew that his spider-sense was leading him to Oscorp and after following the cops, he was not at all surprised to end up at the Oscorp headquarters.

Perched atop a skyscraper across the street Peter watched as police surrounded the building. Holding up guns, Peter had to do a double take to understand what they were aiming at. Standing at the entrance door to Oscorp, where alarms were sounding, was a man who appeared to be made of solid gold. His skin glowed. Peter had never seen anything like it and immediately knew that it was not natural. It had to be some product of Oscorp. The man stood with his arms up which confused Peter a little bit. As far as he could tell the man hadn't hurt anybody yet. He must have tried to break into Oscorp.

"Sir, please step away from the doors," A police man yelled over the intercom.

"I can't," The golden man thundered back, "I have to do this, I'm sorry."

The golden man turned towards the entrance of Oscorp and all of a sudden a round of bullets were shot at him. All of the bullets ricochetted off of the golden man. He paused momentarily as the bullets hit him, seeming shocked, but when he realized he was not at all injured he suddenly shot up into flames and without stopping crashed through the glass entryway of Oscorp. Glass shards flew everywhere and police officers ducked to not be hit by the debris.

This was Peter's cue. He knew that he had to act. He used the distraction as an opportunity and attached a line of webbing to a nearby awning, Peter swung down towards the entrance and quickly shot himself forward, chasing after the golden man.

"It's Spider-Man!" called a police officer behind him, "Don't shoot!"

It was very dark and smokey inside. Sometimes it was crazy for Peter to think that just under fifteen minutes ago he had been in Queens with Jackie and Aunt May about to eat Thanksgiving dinner and now he was here about to fight a crazy man who's skin had been mutated golden and could burst into flames. Peter suspected that this man was behind the random fires that had been happening. Peter wasn't really sure what he could do about the flames but he was going to figure it out. He always did.

Peter spotted the man heading towards the elevator and quickly chased him down. He was no longer emitting flames which Peter saw as a good sign. The man was wearing what appeared to have been pants but now were a kind of ripped up brown shorts. He had no shirt on so his entire gold torso was on display. However by seeing him burst into flames, Peter had to think that he wasn't necessarily cold at the current moment.

"Excuse me sir, I regret to inform you that our offices are closed today," Peter quipped as he dodged the mans fist, flipping over him easily, "Happy Thanksgiving and all that," he explained and the golden man groaned as he lunged for him, "Nope don't do that!" Peter replied narrowly missing a swinging arm "Can't we talk about this?" Peter questioned crossing his arms over his chest and waiting patiently as if they were having an average disagreement.

"Leave me alone!" The golden man cried out in outrage running towards Peter.

"Guess not," Peter commented, however this time he wasn't as lucky and the mans fist directly collided with his stomach throwing Peter back several yards. The man was running a very high temperature, and although Peter had tried to make his suit as flame and burn retardant as possible, he could still feel heat through his suit.

Peter groaned. That had hurt. It felt like a sledgehammer had just hit him in the stomach. It took him a little too long to recover to act like that hadn't hurt. He hadn't had anyone fight back like this since Dr. Conners. The average burglar or thief really couldn't compare. But he couldn't deny that the golden mans strength was impressive. Peter knew that the man must have a weak spot though he just had to find it.

Peter ran at the man and jumped on his back, hoping to stop him from the back but the mans hands tossed him easily backwards a great distance again. He bounced back up but this time he took a beat before planning his next move.

The man didn't appear to be that old, maybe in his mid twenties at most. Peter actually thought he looked kind of familiar but he couldn't quite place the face with all of the gold and the metallic body.

"I have to do this," the golden man commented looking very upset as he urgently pressed the button for the elevator. His voice wasn't really all that menacing, all though he was certainly trying to sound frightening. He sounded like a pretty average guy. "And don't underestimate me Spider-Man. I'm stronger then you."

"I'm not underestimating you man. Trust me I would rather be at home eating pumpkin pie. I just want to know why you keep setting fire to buildings," Peter said gingerly taking a few steps forward.

"I don't have time to explain. It's too late." the golden man explained, confirming to Peter that he was the cause of the fires. This was an interesting development and Peter was very interested to know how and why the man had ended up like this. The elevator doors opened and the man stepped in and pressed a button, having the doors shut behind him.

"Oh we'll see about that," Peter muttered to himself. He didn't try to follow the man into the elevator. Space seemed to be a crucial element of this fight, as the golden man was certainly physically stronger and could burst into flames at any moment, Peter didn't particularly want to get to close to him.

As the elevator was made of glass he knew he would be able to see what floor the man was heading too. Using his webs to sling him upwards he followed the elevator and when it stopped, he moved so he could be ready when the doors opened. He'd stopped on floor thirty-five, the robotics floor. This was kind of unexpected but Peter didn't have time to question it. The man obviously had an agenda and a certain amount of knowledge or a plan about where he was going.

It was time to try something new. The second the doors opened Peter shot two webs out which both successfully collided with the mans hands. Peter wasn't sure what this would do but was a small distraction.

"Ah yes, a spider web, that's what is going to stop me," the man said sarcastically as he stepped out of the elevator, "This is what I think of you and your webbing," the man said as the web easily slid off of his slick skin.

Feebly trying one last time, Peter shot webbing at the mans feet but it was no good. Webbing was out.

_Damn._ This wasn't good. Peter's webs usually worked against criminals and they had worked against Dr. Conners. Peter was running out of ideas and needed a new plan, quick.

"Looks like you are out of luck Spiderman, now just let me do what I need to do and—" the man began but Peter caught him off.

"Sorry to disappoint you golden boy but I can't let that happen," Peter announced confidently even though he was getting tired and knew that his punches were getting weaker.

"Fine if you are not going to get in my way then I guess I'm going to have to get rid of you," the man boldly stated and suddenly he was hurtling at Peter at full force.

Peter had placed it perfectly. He was standing by the window and when the golden man lunged for him, he moved swung up at the very last second. Unable to stop his momentum, the golden man crashed through the window sending him plummeting to the ground and halfway down he burst into flames. Peter knew that the fall wouldn't really hurt the man but it could momentarily knock the wind out of him.

However, unfortunately for Peter, somehow the man managed to twist so that he was headed straight into a fire hydrant. The solid force of the man hitting the fire hydrant caused the fire hydrant to burst open and the water from the hydrant hit the man which caused steam to erupt everywhere.

People below began to scream or shout in terror. The emitting steam made it impossible for anyone to see what was happening and was very thick and rose up very high. Even with Peter's spider senses it was impossible to track the mans whereabouts.

Even though he knew he couldn't do much to help Peter swung down but by the time he got down, the man had vanished. He had undeniably won the round. Although based on what Peter could tell, it was possible that the water had weakened him.

Although he was definitely not in the best shape, Peter patrolled for the rest of the night. He didn't know if the man might pop back up again and try to go to get into Oscorp again or o something worse.

What had he been after? Why the robotics floor? Was he working for Oscorp or was he against Oscorp?

All of these questions sped through Peter's mind as he tried to piece everything together. He would have to be on high alert but also figure out a way to fight the man next time they met. Peter knew there would be a next time.

New outlets, more police and firefighters had begun to arrive on the scene during the fight to figure out what had happened.

When _the Daily Bugle_ reporter rolled in Peter felt a pang of guilt flood over him. Of course it had been important that he'd been there to subdue the golden man. Even though Peter had't been totally successful, police would not have been able to stop the golden man at all. However, he knew that this Thanksgiving had been important to Jackie and he'd seen and heard how upset she was with him. It was not going to be easy to get away with it this time. She wasn't going to let it go like she had in the past.

Peter waited a long time before going home, patrolling and making sure that the golden man was not going to pop up anytime soon. It was still Thanksgiving vacation so he could sleep in the next day. When he finally went home the lights in both his house and Jackie's were out. He thought about going and trying to apologize to Jackie now but decided against it as it was so late.

Fixing himself some food and changing out of the suit which had suffered some minor damages, he tried to piece together everything he had learned. However making his way upstairs the exhaustion from the day overwhelmed him and when he fell into bed he had no trouble falling asleep.

* * *

A/N: I always start these off like "OMG look who decided to update"! Its only been 7 months this time! Sorry everybody! But inspiration has finally struck again!

So yeah decided to update finally! Who know who is even reading this anymore but I hope that if you read it you liked it.

Kind of an exciting chapter right? The plot is finally starting to form. Do you recognize the villain? He's from the Spider-Man comics! See if you can guess. His name is not the golden man so you'll find out who it is next chapter!

What do you think is going to happen with Jackie and Peter? And Mia and Flash?

Thanks to **Nightengale agent of the dark, JediKendalina, NothingNooneZero, Nellie, The girl with no life, AliciaRoseFantasy, and Fanficqueen306 **for reviewing the last chapter! I always love getting your reviews!

I also made a little inspiration tumblr about the story for myself so if you want to take a look or ask me questions there you can go to jackieandpeter . tumblr . com (delete the spaces between the dots to access I just can't post links here but it's just a tumblr page) and let me know!


	13. Chapter 13: Honest

_The Daily Bugle _headline the next morning read:**_MOLTEN MAN TERRORIZES CITY AND BREAKS INTO OSCORP_**

No one had been able to take a very good picture of Molten Man, instead he was just a blur of fire.

Unsurprisingly there was very little disclosed as everyone was still so confused about what had happened in the first place. Spider-Man was of course mentioned but to Peter's chagrin was mentioned to possibly be in cahoots with the Molten Man. Luckily other papers like _the Daily Globe_ were all posting that Spider-Man had saved the day, but Peter wasn't so sure he had. Although the Molten Man had not made any appearances since the fight, Peter was sure that he would pop up again as nobody had been found.

Peter had patrolled for the past two days, not letting himself think about anything but the Molten Man. Oscorp was now being heavily guarded and a construction team was busy fixing all of the damages that had been done to the entryway and the fifth floor. The security at Norman Osborn's house had also increased immensely.

Peter knew that Molten Man had started the random fires and had tried to break into Oscorp. Now he just needed to figure out who Molten Man was, how he had been created and why he was trying to break into Oscorp.

Peter had been working on how to fire proof his suit more and ways to fight Molten Man if they ever met again. He was also considering a plan to get into Oscorp to do some more digging. He'd snuck into Oscorp before but now with the new security, it could be more difficult.

He was out patrolling when he got Jackie's text.

Peter had felt too guilty to face Jackie yet. There was not good excuse for him missing Thanksgiving except 'I'm Spider-Man and I had to go fight Molten Man' which he couldn't tell her. She had looked absolutely devastated when Peter had left on Thanksgiving. The way she had called after him so pleadingly had broke his heart. She had been just about to tell him something when he had needed to run off.

Although people called Spider-Man a hero, the real life Peter was too much of a coward to face the girl that he liked.

Peter had known he liked Jackie from the moment he'd met her. But then he'd gotten to know her and it had been confirmed to him over and over again in every moment that he spent with her that she was the girl of his dreams and that he should not let her go. He had no idea how she felt though. It was very possible that Jackie saw Peter as just a friend. Peter was willing to be just Jackie's friend if that meant keeping her in his life though.

He'd considered telling her the truth a few times, it would be hard but maybe she would understand. Peter had ultimately decided that he couldn't get her involved. Jackie had already been in a horrible and traumatic accident which had killed her Mother. He both didn't want Jackie to worry about him getting hurt and didn't want anybody to be able to trace Spider-Man to Jackie.

He couldn't stand the idea of Jackie being hurt by someone like Molten Man. He'd been so worried about her during the storm when she'd cut her hand or when she'd saved Joy Mercado. He hated feeling like he couldn't protect her. But if he exposed her to his world of crime and villains, she would be even less safe having any sort of connection to Peter and he was not willing to risk her safety.

There was also a small part of him that was scared that Jackie would think he was a freak or wouldn't understand why he had to be Spider-Man even though Jackie had all things considered been very understanding and accepting.

_We need to talk _she had texted him.

_Yes _Peter had wrote back and they'd agreed to meet at Peter's house in an hour.

Jackie was waiting on Peter's porch when he arrived. Peter was ten minutes late and still wearing his Spider-Man costume under his coat and jeans when he ran up the stairs.

Dressed in a red duffle coat, jeans and brown knee boots, Jackie looked up upon his arrival and gave Peter a forced smile, "Hey," she greeted him quietly. Immediately Peter knew that this was not going to be easy.

"Sorry I'm late," Peter apologized, he considered adding an excuse but figured that it was not the time, he quickly unlocked the door and let Jackie inside, following behind her.

May was at work fortunately so the house was very quiet. Jackie made her way into the living room but didn't sit down, Instead she faced away from Peter.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Peter wondered as he leaned against the doorframe to the living room.

Jackie turned to face him, looking disappointed that Peter even had to ask what she wanted to talk about. She bit her lip before taking a deep breath, "What happened to you on Thanksgiving Peter? The truth please. Because I'm pretty sure your headaches excuse is a lie," She stated matter of factly.

There was a long silence as Peter tried to think about how to respond.

Finally after a few moments, Peter responded despondently, "Jackie I can't talk about it." He felt incredibly guilty and couldn't look her in the eye.

Jackie took a few steps forward, "Yes you can Peter, I mean I burden you with all my drama and I want you to be able to do the same," She explained with a pleading look.

"You aren't burdening me," Peter informed her honestly.

"Peter you are my best friend and I love how I can talk to you and you are so understanding and good to me. But even though we hang out almost everyday I feel like you are keeping something from me and I just want you to be honest with me," She told him, obviously very emotional about his lies.

"I don't want to talk about this," Peter snapped, immediately feeling bad it. Jackie was being very reasonable. He wished that she understood that he was doing it for her safety and that it would be better this way.

"Peter…" Jackie tried to compose herself, "You are always disappearing somewhere and lying about it and then when you come back you have bruises or your exhausted and I just want to know what is happening" she said in a very calm voice, "Is it something bad?"

"No!" Peter groaned shaking his head.

Jackie added urgently, "If it is I can help you. Elliot is a lawyer and we can talk to him and figure it out but you have to let me help you!" She commented very worriedly.

"Jackie it's not like that," Peter answered her, "It's nothing bad. Just don't worry about it okay!" He wanted the conversation to be over so badly but knew that this would probably not end well.

Peter could see tears forming in Jackie's eyes as she suddenly cried out, "How could you just leave on Thanksgiving? How could you do that to Aunt May? You should have seen her face when I told her that you weren't coming to eat with us!" Her voice broke a little bit and Peter's heart sank at seeing how upset Jackie was, "How could you just leave without telling me where you were going Peter?"

"Jackie please… I…" Peter said desperately, not wanting her to cry, "I don't expect you to understand but-"

"I don't understand anything Peter," Jackie cut him off, crossing her arms over her chest defensively, "So why don't you just clear it up for me?"

Peter waited a moment before saying, "Look there are things that you don't know. Ok? Things that I want to tell you but I can't and I may never be able to and I just need you to trust me."

In a cold voice Jackie said, "Trust is earned. I can't just magically hand it over!"

"Jackie…" Peter tried but he couldn't think of anything to say to make the situation better.

Jackie shook her head and took a deep breath, the tears were gone now, and Peter could see the anger and frustration she had been holding back,"I can't do this Peter. I'm sorry but I don't trust you anymore. You keep lying to me and I don't know why. Until you tell me what is going on I just… I can't Peter," She shook her head, seeming to convince herself that this was what would be best for the both of them.

"Please," Peter begged, "Jackie I want to but-" Peter began but Jackie cut him off.

"Goodbye Peter," Jackie said and before Peter could stop her, she ran to the door and headed across the street.

Peter first went to go after her but stopped himself. He couldn't tell her his secret. He couldn't. So going over to her house was not going to help anyone.

He walked up to his room dejectedly and fell on to his bed.

He had ruined things with Jackie and unless he told her everything, she was out of his life.

* * *

For the rest of Jackie's Thanksgiving break, she mainly moped around the house and watched TV and ate Thanksgiving leftovers. She was so angry and disappointed with Peter. Since the fight he had made no attempt to come over and explain anything to her. What secret could he be hiding that it was worth loosing their friendship?

Maggie had asked about Peter a few times and Jackie had explained that they were fighting. Like a good sister, Maggie had immediately taken Jackie's side.

Mia had also come over one day and Jackie had explained most of the situation to her and Mia had nodded solemnly in understanding.

In an effort to get Jackie out of the house, Maggie had taken her to visit Empire State University. Jackie had loved the Empire State University campus and how she'd felt the moment she'd walked onto the campus. The student who had showed them around, Fiona had been so kind and had seemed really honest about the school which Jackie really appreciated. Maggie had asked a lot of questions but also seemed very impressed with the school. Fiona had given Jackie her email and phone number for if she had any questions and after Maggie and Jackie had gone out for Chinese food.

Jackie had been able to push Peter out of her head for the entire tour but once she'd gotten home she had wanted to go run across the street and tell Peter everything. And it hurt.

It hurt because that night she realized that she liked Peter.

She liked Peter.

Of course she liked him as a friend. But this was different. It was more than friendship. This was wanting to be close to Peter in every way possible. This was what had been bouncing around somewhere in her mind ever since the rainstorm. It was the way she'd felt when Peter had checked to see if she was okay after she'd found Joy Mercado. It was why she wanted to go tell Peter everything was okay and that they could still be friends but why she also knew that she couldn't. Until he was honest with her she couldn't talk to him.

If she talked to him there was a good chance that she would forgive him on the spot because there was nothing more that she wanted then to be close to him in every way there was to be close to a person.

Why did she have to realize that she liked him now that she couldn't be with him? Now it was so complicated that it made her heart ache.

And now even if Peter told her the truth about whatever he was lying about, there was the question of did he like Jackie in the same way that Jackie liked him? Sometimes it seemed like he did, but other times it was harder to tell.

On the last day of break, Jackie realized that she needed to pull herself together. Loosing Peter was hard, but until he told her the truth, she had to cut him out of her life. It was the only way she could keep going and finish the semester. She felt stupid for letting him have so much control over her emotions, but it wasn't like Peter was a crush or a passing interest, he was her best friend.

Instead of worrying about Peter, she decided to put all of her effort into finding out who Mark Raxton was. She had been so busy moping that she'd barely made any progress on finding him despite the very obvious break of the Oscorp attack that had happened on Thanksgiving. Jackie hadn't really heard about the attacks until the day afterwards as after eating Thanksgiving dinner, she had stayed and talked to May, Maggie and Elliot until May had gone back home and then had gone straight up to her room and fallen asleep.

The next day when she'd opened _the Daily Bugle _website and had read the article about the attack her first thought had been that Mark Raxton was Molten Man. She held herself back from making this assumption but it seemed to be a major possibility.

Reading about Molten Man had really frightened her. A man that caught fire and destroyed buildings pretty much put her fear of fire on high alert, but she also could not let it stop her. She just had to be careful.

There was so much mystery surrounding the story. She was just glad that Spider-Man had been able to stop the Molten Man before he had burned down another building.. She needed more proof though before she could officially complete the story. There were still so many holes, like how Mark Raxton, the young robotics lab assistant, had turned into the Molten Man, or how much Oscorp was involved, or how Big Man was involved.

But Jackie was determined to figure it out.

* * *

When Jackie's alarm clock went off telling her that it was time to get ready for school, she had considered pretending to be sick. It was cold and she was so comfortable and warm in her bed. Also she did not want school to resume and she especially did not want to have to face Peter at school.

However despite how much she did not want to go to school, she had gotten up and had picked out an outfit and had gotten ready.

"Good morning," Maggie greeted her as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "Do you want me to drive you to school today?"

Jackie thought about protesting as she did not want to inconvenience Maggie at all, but she also did not really want to walk to school so she agreed.

As Jackie poured herself some coffee, Maggie ate her cereal at the counter.

"Oh I've been meaning to ask you!" Maggie said suddenly, "Do you want to chaperone for a field trip on Saturday? My class is going and we can't seem to find enough parents available."

"Sure," Jackie agreed.

"I know you are super busy but-" Maggie began.

"No it's fine, I don't really have any plans for Saturday anyways," Jackie informed her, "Where is the field trip to?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oscorp," Maggie answered.

Jackie almost chocked on her coffee. Maggie gave her a confused look to which Jackie coughed out the reply of, "Coffee went down the wrong pipe."

What were the chances? It was perfect. Jackie could do some digging at Oscorp and maybe figure out what Mark Raxton's connection to Oscorp was and why Molten Man was trying to break in. That was probably a little bit optimistic considering how difficult the case had been so far but it was possible that she would be able to get some more information during the field trip.

"Some of the parents are kind of concerned because of the whole Thanksgiving attack and having that freak on the loose but I think it should be fine," Maggie explained, "They've really bumped up the security since the attack and everything."

"I think it should be fine too," Jackie agreed, "I'd be happy to help!"

"Great," Maggie grinned standing up, "Are you ready for school?"

"Yes," Jackie agreed, "Let's go!"

* * *

**A/N:** Pretty short update but I figured even a short update was better than no update!

I wrote this pretty quickly but I hope it's okay!

What did you think? What do you think is going to happen next? Let me know!

Thanks so much to **The girl with no life, SurvivorTierEXO, nellie511, Fanficqueen306, Iris, mun3litKnight **and for the follows and likes on last chapter! I appreciate the feedback and reviews so much!

I just saw Captain America Civil War and loved Tom Holland as Spider-Man! Makes me so excited for the Spider-Man stand alone movie. I changed the genre of the fic from movies to comics though because I figure it was never really very connected to the movies to begin with

Also I thought I would add my inspiration tumblr again: .com - just in case you are interested!

You can ask me any and all questions you have there. Just delete the spaces and parentheses between the periods to access.


	14. Chapter 14: Bad Blood

"Did you know that instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through their skin?" the little boy next to Jackie questioned.

"I didn't know that Jeremy," Jackie told the young boy.

Jackie was sat on a school bus next to Jeremy, one of Maggie's students on her way to their Oscorp field trip that Jackie had agreed to help chaperone. They were almost in Manhattan and all of the kids were very excited. Meanwhile most of the parents looked exhausted and not happy to be spending their Saturday morning on a field trip with a bunch of rambunctious five year olds.

Jackie was doing her best to keep the kids busy and they were loving the attention she was giving them. They kept asking her questions and trying to impress her.

Jackie wasn't sure what to expect from the field trip. She had only seen the Oscorp building from the outside as it wasn't too far from _the Daily Bugle_ building. Her plan was to at one point break away from the group to ask about Mark Raxton and to look out for anything she thought was suspicious. That being said, she knew that security would be at an all time high after the Molten Man attacks so she had to be very careful.

"You look like Ms. Carter," the girl in front of her with bangs and a bob haircut named Ramona commented.

"That's because she's my sister," Jackie informed Ramona who looked awestruck.

"Ms. Carter is the most beautiful bestest teacher ever," Ramona told Jackie matter of factly which made Jackie smile.

"Alright everybody!" Maggie said loudly from the front of the bus, Jackie saw all of the kids sit up a little more to pay attention to Maggie. It was amazing to see Maggie in her element with the children. She was so good with them. "We are almost to Oscorp now. What are we going to do when we get there? Yes Beatrice?"

"We are going to get off the bus and then find our buddy," Beatrice, who was sitting towards the front chimed.

"Very good," Maggie nodded, "And then you are going to find your group adults. We are going to break up into two groups right? Do you all remember which group you are in?"

"Yes!" all of the children chorused.

"Great," Maggie said and then looking out the window said, "We are here, so please file of the bus in a quick and orderly fashion!" Maggie said, and the children did as they were told. They were all wearing their puffy winter jackets and hats and scarfs and backpacks with various cartoons printed all over them.

The Oscorp tower was very impressive. It was one of the tallest buildings in the city and had a sleek modern design that made it stand out amongst all of the other skyscrapers. Everything appeared to have been cleaned up from the Molten Man attack and everything was back to normal. Various employee's were exiting and entering the building. Jackie couldn't help but wonder if any of them were the employee that she had heard talking to Big Man.

"Which one is yours?" A mother asked interrupting Jackie's train of thought.

"Oh I'm not a mom," Jackie answered very quickly, "I'm Maggie's… I mean Ms. Carter's younger sister. I'm Jackie."

"Oh right!" The mom said looking a little embarrassed, "I did think you looked pretty young."

"What about you?" Jackie asked.

"I'm Tyler's mom, my name is Erica" She said looking fondly at her son, "Are you in group two?"

"Yeah," Jackie nodded. Maggie was in charge of group one and her assistant teacher, Michael, or Mr. B as he was called by all of the students, was in charge of group two. The chaperones were pretty much there to make sure none of the children wandered off and got lost.

The inside of Oscorp was just as impressive as the outside. Everything was very chic and utilized the newest technology. There were different screens all over the place, projecting the news and other goings on at Oscorp. Everything seemed to be made out of glass and the Oscorp logo was printed everywhere. It wasn't too busy, due to it being a Saturday, but there were still people coming and going.

Maggie was signing everyone in and meeting with the tour guides while the kids formed into their groups, each holding hands with a buddy. Jackie was happy to see that Jeremy and Ramona were both in her group.

"Did you know that there are spiders on every continent except Antarctica!" Jeremy asked Jackie.

"I didn't know that bud," Jackie told him honestly, "How'd you get so smart?"

"My daddy reads me to me from my encyclopedia at night!" Jeremy informed her.

"Wow," Jackie said, "And you remember all of those facts?"

"Yes of course I do!" Jeremy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Jackie smiled but her heart sunk a little bit. Jeremy reminded her a lot of Peter.

She and Peter still had not talked since their fight. School had been pretty awkward. Peter had stopped eating lunch with her and Mia. Jackie had only passed by him in the hall twice. Both times he looked like he was going to say something to her but then just kept walking. Otherwise it seemed like he was avoiding her. It hurt. He didn't want to be friends with her anymore and it sucked to loose him. She missed him but was very angry with him at the same time.

Jackie was so glad that she still had Mia. Mia seemed confused by the fight but said she wasn't taking sides because she thought that Peter and Jackie were both being stubborn. And she was right, they were both being stubborn, but Jackie wasn't going to forgive him until he told her what he was hiding.

She pushed all thoughts of Peter aside. She'd been trying her best to think about him as little as possible, it only made her sad. Instead she decided that it was time to buckle down and focus on Oscorp.

The male tour guide came over to group two and started talking about Oscorp's founding and Norman Osborn. The tour guide was very peppy and appeared to be in college. Jackie suspected that this was for college credit or through an internship program. He left out several major parts to the story, the parts that would make Oscorp or Osborn look bad, such as his illness and the Dr. Conner's attack and the more recent Molten Man attack.

"The Oscorp tower is 108 stories tall," the tour guide explained, "Their are many different programs that we work on at Oscorp, such as chemistry, engineering, biology, robotics and physics as well as a lot of other programs. Over the past few years, Oscorp has become one the most successful technology company and does its best to give back to the rest of the world," the kids nodded along to the prattling about the building "Now if you will follow me we are going to go take a look at the elevator system!" The tour guide began to walk towards the elevators and all of the kids and parents began to follow, however, Jackie had something that she needed to do.

"I think I saw a bathroom back there! I'll be right back!" Jackie quickly told Erica, "I'll catch up with you all in a moment!"

"Okay," Erica nodded, "Don't be too long though!" she warned to which Jackie nodded.

Jackie quickly slipped away from the group and went to the front reception desk. A very prim lady wearing a very professional looking suit and who had her hair up in a tight knot behind her head, looked up the second Jackie reached her and met her with a friendly, but fake smile.

"Hello," the woman greeted her, sounding slightly robotic, "How may I help you?"

Jackie quickly thought of a lie and stated, "My old friend Mark Raxton works here. I'm here with a tour and I was wondering if you could tell me what department he works in. I would love to see him again if possible."

"Do you have a guest slip?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes!" Jackie said pulling out the slip that Maggie had given her at the beginning of the trip.

The receptionist looked it over for a few seconds, "Okay," she nodded, "What was your friends name again?"

"Mark Raxton," Jackie repeated and the receptionist typed it in to her computer.

She quickly shook her head though, "I'm sorry we don't have any record that Mark Raxton ever worked here," She informed Jackie, to which Jackie frowned.

"What?" Jackie had seen a picture of Mark Raxton working for Oscorp in the article that she'd seen on _the Daily Bugle _website. He'd been a lab assistant in the robotics department.

"We have a list of every registered employee that has ever worked for Oscorp and he is not registered anywhere," the receptionist informed her.

"Oh," Jackie nodded dumbly, "Well that's strange I could have sworn…. Thank you for your help," She quickly thanked the receptionist and went to rejoin the tour. Oscorp had erased Mark Raxton from their records. Jackie wasn't really that surprised but it seemed like very solid proof to her that Oscorp was involved in Mark's disappearance and was covering it up.

Now the question was what had happened to Mark and was he Molten Man? Jackie was still hesitant to say that Mark was Molten Man. Appearance wise, it was hard to tell. Jackie had only ever seen one picture of Mark, from _the Bugle_ archives and the new pictures of Molten Man were very hard to distinguish and pull out specific features. But the fact that Molten Man had been heading for the robotics floor and Mark Raxton had worked in robotics seemed like it was more possible than not that Mark was Molten Man.

Jackie mulled this over this as she went to go catch up with the rest of the group two. She found herself not really listening to what the tour guide was saying for a while, thinking about how crazy it was that she had become mixed up in all of this. She had to wonder who else knew about Mark Raxton. Were his parents worried about him? Did he have friends who were concerned about his whereabouts? Was she the only person in the world who cared about where Mark Raxton was?

Soon Jackie was pulled out of her daze when she saw a man who she recognized standing next to the tour guide. He had been in the picture from_ the Daily Bugle _with Mark Raxton. He was the man who had been looking over Mark's shoulder and smiling. Immediately Jackie was attentive and looking around.

They were on the robotics floor, where the Molten Man attack had occurred. Like the front, everything had been patched up already and there was no sign of Molten Man or Spider-Man anywhere. Jackie wondered which window that Spider-Man and Molten Man had crashed out of. Where was the fire hydrant that had caused such a big commotion? It was amazing how quickly Oscorp had been able to cover everything up.

The man was fairly old, with very piercing pale blue eyes. His hair was a strange shade of white blonde and his face was creased with wrinkles. He wore a lab coat. Although he was older, he was still in very good shape, however he looked tired and worn down. He looked like he did not particularly want to be at Oscorp on a Saturday, as part of a children's field trip, like he probably had better things to be doing.

"This is Dr. Spencer Smythe, the Director of Robotics," the tour guide introduced with a very wide smile that looked very fake.

"Hello everyone," Smythe nodded, sounding very forced, "I hope you are enjoying Oscorp. Our robotics program is ranked to be the best in the United States and we take a lot of pride in our achievements and accomplishments here."

"This is where Molten Man was right?" Jeremy suddenly asked, his eyes growing wide. All of the kids began to murmur in excitement at this realization. They began looking around wildly as if Molten Man and Spider-Man were actually in the room with them. Two of the little boys started pretending to punch each other, and the chaperone behind them scolded them and shushed them.

"Did you see him?" A little girl questioned..

"Spider-Man was here!" Ramona yelled excitedly, causing some of the other lab workers to stare.

"Did you meet Spider-Man?" Tyler questioned.

"I did not see Spider-Man actually," Smythe answered, looking frustrated and angered by the mention of the fight, "Let's continue," he said coldly. All of the children groaned, wanting to know all of the details about the Spider-Man fight, but it was obvious that Smythe was not interested in telling them anything about it. Smyth began to talk about what robotics was which Jackie tried to pay attention to, but she found her eyes wandering around the room. The lab assistants looked just like Mark Raxton had in the picture, with their lab coats, contentedly working on some project. Did they know him? Did they realize he was gone?

Jackie wished she knew more about math and science so that she could make sense of what the robotics team was working on, but to her, they all just looked like different machines.

"Alright!" the tour guide inserted himself after Smythe was done. The kindergarteners all looked bored out of their minds at Smythe's long winded and very technical explanation of robotics, "Let's have a look around the room and thank Dr. Smythe!"

"Thank you," the children chorused, even though it was very obvious that they were not thankful at all.

Smythe gave a curt nod and moved away from the group.

The rest of the group moved to go look at one of the machines, but Jackie knew she needed to talk to Dr. Smythe. He was the only person that she knew had any sort of direct connection to Raxton at Oscorp. He was the only lead she had.

"Dr. Smythe," Jackie called after him, and he stopped and turned.

"Yes?" He questioned in his deep, drawling voice as Jackie walked over to him.

"I just wanted to say hello," Jackie told him, giving him her most non-threatening smile, "I saw a picture of you in_ the Daily Bugle _a while back."

"Oh did you?" He seemed a little bit surprised.

"Yeah it was a picture of you with your lab assistant," Jackie explained to him. Smythe's eyes narrowed a little bit, and he looked her up and down, as if trying to place her. Jackie didn't let it phase her though, "Is he here? He looks like this guy I knew growing up and I would love to-"

"I have a lot of lab assistants," Smythe quickly dismissed her.

"Oh what was his name?" Jackie said, pretending to think about it, "I think his name started with an M or something? I just couldn't figure out where I knew him from!" Jackie shook her head before asking, "Do you remember him?"

"I think I do. He doesn't work here anymore," Smythe said with a tight lipped smile.

"Oh that's too bad!" Jackie said, pretending to be shocked by this revelation, "Was he fired?" She questioned.

Smythe paused, thinking about how to answer her question for a moment before answering, "Yes. It was very unfortunate. He's not around anymore though so I wouldn't worry yourself about trying to find him." Jackie nodded and was about to excuse herself when Smythe suddenly asked, "You work for the Daily Bugle don't you?"

Jackie had to keep her jaw from snapping open and she felt as though her heart had dropped out of her chest, "S-Sorry?" she managed to get out.

"I recognize you from the news reports about Ms. Mercado," He told her. Jackie found herself instinctively taking a step back. His eyes looked slightly sinister, but he had a strange smile on his face. He all of a sudden looked a lot more menacing.

Jackie didn't answer him, her jaw locked. Her heart started beating very quickly.

"You should be careful," Smythe warned with the same strange smile, "You don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time like Ms. Meracdo was."

Jackie gulped a little bit and nodded, forcing out a laugh.

"Jackie!" Erica called in the distance, "We're going!"

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Smythe," Jackie said with as much confidence as she could muster.

"It was nice meeting you too," Smythe nodded, giving Jackie another tight lipped smile, "Maybe we will see each other again."

_I hope not. _Jackie thought to herself. She turned to go join the rest of the group. She snuck one last look at Smythe, who was still looking after her. She felt like she might have a panic attack but Jeremy quickly started rattling off animal facts to her, so she tried to keep calm.

She spent most of the rest of the tour trying to calm herself down. Why had Smythe recognized her from _the Bugle_? She was just an intern. He had also seemed to know a lot about Joy and her attack, which was concerning. He must have been involved in some way, but how, Jackie couldn't say. She didn't think that Oscorp would have sent their director of Robotics to go beat up a _Bugle_ reporter, but he must have known about it or had some sort of interest in it to be able to recognize Jackie. Everything was starting to feel much more dangerous now that Jackie wasn't just an intern. Someone knew that she knew about Mark Raxton.

After the field trip was over and Jackie had said goodbye to all of the kids, she and Maggie drove home. Maggie talked about how successful the trip had been and how much fun her group had been. Jackie listened but mainly tried to peace things together in her head.

Mark Raxton worked for the robotics program at Oscorp with Dr. Smythe. Something had happened which had caused Mark Raxton to leave Oscorp and he was somehow involved in the mysterious fires happening around New York.

There was some sort of gang lead by'Big Man' who were being paid by Oscorp to cover up information that Norman Osborn didn't want to get out. Big Man had infiltrated or were somehow involved with the cops, journalists, and detectives. Big Man was looking for the man who had burned down the buildings in the fires.

Joy Mercado had been attacked while trying to look into information about the fires and Smythe knew about it.

And there was a man made of fire who was possibly Mark Raxton who had tried to break into Oscorp for an unknown reason.

If Mark Raxton was Molten Man, like Jackie suspected, then something had happened at Oscorp to turn him into Molten Man. She assumed that he wasn't working for Oscorp as he had broken in.

There was still so much missing from the narrative though. Several important details were missing, like how had Raxton turned into Molten Man, and who was Big Man. With all of the Mark Raxton drama, Jackie had almost forgotten about the whole Big Man debacle that had started everything. Thinking about him now reminded Jackie of how Big Man promised to "quickly silence" anyone who had any knowledge. Even though Jackie was still very confused, trying to piece the story together, she definitely fell into the category of people with knowledge.

"You okay?" Maggie asked Jackie as they got closer to the house.

"Just tired," Jackie lied, "And finals are coming up so I have a lot of studying to do!"

Maggie nodded, "I totally understand. Let me know if I can help though."

"Thank you Maggie," Jackie smiled weakly. She hated the idea of possibly putting Maggie in danger. She had to be more careful.

Once they were home, Jackie quickly went up to her room and looked up Dr. Smythe. The internet was full of pictures of him and named several awards he'd won over the years and his various accomplishments.

After a few minutes of searching Jackie found something that made her stomach drop.

It was piece from _the Bugle t_itled "Tech Beat: Exploring Mobility" and was written by Joy. It was a very short piece, just a few quick questions, not even a full article.

Jackie highlighted a few lines from the piece. In it, Joy asked what Smythe was working on, to which Smythe replied, "mobility" and then elaborated that they were working on "manned flight technology."

Jackie made a mental note to look into this more but Smythe went on to say that he wanted there to be enhanced artificial intelligence machines making informed, logical choices at greater speeds, which to Jackie sounded like something out of dystopian, sci-fi movie.

According to Joy, the NYPD was interested in Smythe's machines, to which Smythe had replied, "Well, if you want to catch the right fly, you have to spin the right web," which Jackie thought was a very odd metaphor to make.

So Smythe had met Joy before and was working on artificial intelligence robots that could work for the police. Jackie hated thinking about everything that Oscorp could do with robots like that. After everything she had learned, it was pretty terrifying to think about.

Jackie scribbled all of this down in a notebook where she had started keeping all of the other information about her investigation. It was not a very organized book but she had started making small profiles for all of the people who she knew were involved which included Big Man, Mark Raxton and now Smythe.

After making her notes, Jackie began looking through more internet sources but stopped when she found a picture.

It was a picture from some sort of event from a few years prior. Dr. Smythe was wearing a nice suit and smiling towards the camera. To Smythe's left was Dr. Curt Connors, pre-Lizard melt down. Smyth and Connors had their arms around each other and seemed to be quite close. This was an interesting development in the story, that Smythe knew Connors. It was who was to Smythe's right that surprised Jackie most of all though. Standing to Smythe's right was unmistakably, J. Jonah Jameson.

* * *

**A/N: **Another kind of short chapter but pretty full of information. Unfortunately some of what is being mentioned is from several chapters ago so let me know if you are confused or have any questions! The plots getting pretty complicated and because I update so infrequently I totally understand if you are confused. I hope that by the end everything makes sense!

If you don't remember, when Jackie first looked up Mark Raxton there was a picture of him with a man standing in back of him, that man we now know is Smythe.

Pretty crazy stuff happening with Smythe though! What did you think? And what about J. Jonah Jameson's involvement with everything? What do you think that's about?

Not sure how I feel about this chapter but I just really wanted to post something! Also as per usual I only lightly edited so let me know if there are anything embarassing typos or mistakes.

I don't like having Jackie and Peter fighting! Peter is not really in this chapter too much but he'll be back next chapter which I actually might be able to post really soon because I've written about half of it (but as always I'm hesitant to promise anything so just stay tuned.)

Thanks to **nellie511, mun3litKnight, SurvivorTierEXO, Ally, BrightEyesStoneHeart, the guest** and an especially big thanks to **Just Watch Me Fly**! Literally cried reading **Just Watch Me Fly**'s review! So thankful for all of the kind reviews!


	15. Chapter 15: Here We Go

Chemistry had become a lot more difficult without Peter. Mia was trying her best to help Jackie but she wasn't as good as explaining everything as Peter was. She tended to get a little frustrated with Jackie if she didn't understand it the first time she explained it. Jackie had to work extra hard now to keep her grades up and finals were just around the corner.

In class they were doing their last lab of the semester where they turned a penny from copper to "gold" by forming brass from zinc and copper by creating a bronze alloy. Jackie was working with her lab group to do the experiment and everything was going fine until one of the sophomore boys, Paul, accidentally tripped and spilled zinc all over Jackie's jeans.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Paul started to apologize profusely, looking completely mortified, while his friends sniggered at him in the background.

"Nice one Paul!" A boy named Alex snickered, "That's certainly a way to get her attention!"

Jackie had a certain aura about her as the only senior in the class, and while at first Jackie had been worried that the sophomores would think she was dumb for being in a class with them, instead they showed her a level of respect. Also many of the sophomore guys seemed to like her, much to the disdain of all of the girls in her class, and flirted with her a lot. Jackie didn't think much of it as they all seemed like the type of guys that would flirt with anyone who identified as female.

"It's totally fine," Jackie told him, even though she was not completely thrilled to have zinc seeping into her jeans. Jackie was just glad that it was zinc and not some dangerous acid that had been spilled.

"Go wash off in the bathroom," Dr. Bard told Jackie in a bored voice and Jackie quickly excused herself from class and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Upon entering the bathroom, Jackie found some paper towels and began trying to wash up. The paper towels could only do so much as the damage had already been done but Jackie did her best to minimize the effects.

Suddenly Jackie noticed that there was someone sniffling in one of the nearby bathroom stalls.

Jackie waited a moment to see if the sniffling continued before knocking softly on the bathroom stall door and tentatively asking, "Are you okay?"

There was a moment of sniffling, "Uhm…" a girls weak voice replied from inside the stall, Jackie could tell she was trying to hold back tears, "I-I'm o-okay."

"It's okay if you're not okay," Jackie told the girl in the stall, "Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a moment of silence before the stall door swung open. She was a little surprised to see that it was Liz Allan emerge, her eyes red and puffy and mascara stained. Jackie hardly knew Liz Allan. They didn't have any classes together and had never had a real conversation. Liz hung out with Sally Avril and the other popular girls. Jackie had never seen Liz as the stereotypical mean popular girl though, Liz always seemed to be outgoing and friendly and often smiled at Jackie in the hall despite them never talking before.

"Sorry!" Liz apologized wiping her eyes, "Sorry I'm not usually like this. I've just been having kind of an awful day."

"That's okay," Jackie said, trying to sound comforting, "Anything I can help with?" she offered.

"No, I don't think so," Liz told Jackie, still trying not to cry, "Not unless you know someone on the board of admissions at Northwestern University." Jackie didn't quite know what she meant so Liz elaborated, "I didn't get into Northwestern early decision."

"That is their loss," Jackie told Liz without missing a beat, "Everything happens for a reason though," Jackie didn't totally believe that everything happened for a reason but it sounded like the right thing to say, "That still sucks, I'm sorry."

"Thanks Jackie," Liz said with a weak smile as she walked over to the mirror to inspect the damage that crying had done to her makeup.

Jackie was a little surprised that Liz even knew her name. "This is kind of just the cherry on top of an awful week," She explained, wiping some of the smeared mascara off from under her eye, "Flash and I broke up yesterday, for real this time. It's been over between us for a while you know and it was pretty mutual, so I'm not like totally heartbroken, but now that its official, it just… it just hurts more you know?" She said, running a hand through her pale blonde hair, and Jackie nodded, "And Sally doesn't really get how upset I am so I don't really have anyone to talk to. And my brother is… he's…" she sighed, "I'm just having an especially bad day today." Her voice quivered a little bit, but she was did a pretty good job keeping it together.

"I know how you feel," Jackie said, "I know you're going to get through it though. You are Liz Allan! In ten years when you are married to some great guy and super successful and happy, Flash and Northwestern aren't going to matter at all. And if you ever need to talk to someone other than Sally, I'm here for you," Jackie offered.

"Really?" Liz questioned making eye contact with Jackie through the mirror, to which Jackie nodded, "That's really cool of you Jackie."

"Anytime," Jackie smiled.

Liz turned away from the mirror to Jackie, leaning on the nearby sink, "You totally don't have to answer this if you don't want to…" she started, making Jackie wonder where she was going with the conversation, "But do you mind if I ask what's going on with you and Parker?" Liz asked, really surprising Jackie. She had no clue that Liz even knew her name and now she was asking about Jackie and Peter's relationship.

"Peter and me?" Jackie wondered with a sigh, looking down at the ground, "Umm… Good question. I wish I knew. I don't really know what's going on with us right now," she said honestly.

"Peter is a really great guy, one of the good ones" Liz said with a knowing smile, "You'll figure it out."

"Yeah," Jackie nodded with fake confidence, "I'm sure we will." She paused for a moment, before realizing that she was supposed to be in class, "I better get back to class before Dr. Bard sends out a search and rescue team." Jackie said heading to the door.

"Of course! Good luck with Dr. Bard!" Liz called to her, "And thanks for everything Jackie!"

Jackie couldn't stop herself from smiling as she walked back to her chemistry class. With everything going on with Mark Raxton and Big Man and Molten Man and Oscorp and Smythe, it felt good to actually help someone, even if it wasn't on a big scale. It made Jackie feel good, and reminded her of why she wanted to help people on a bigger scale.

* * *

Peter was completely miserable and it was all his fault.

He knew the fall out between Jackie and himself was his fault but he didn't know what to do to fix everything while also keeping Jackie protected from everything that came with being Spider-Man.

Peter knew what loss felt like. He'd lost his parents at such a young age and it had left a gap in him that had yet to be filled. And then he'd lost Uncle Ben, when he knew that he could have done something to prevent him from being killed. He didn't want to put Jackie in a position where she could be hurt when he knew that she would have been safe if he had never met her and he knew that if he lost Jackie he would never recover.

Seeing her in the halls at school was painful. There was so much he wanted to tell her but couldn't. He'd started walking different routes to class so that he didn't have to see her and most sad was that he'd started eating lunch by himself in the AP biology room, which no one was ever in at lunch time. It was just like before Jackie had come.

It was just after lunch and Peter had AP biology with Mia, meaning he didn't have to leave, because he was already in his classroom. Mia, who was always early to class, was one of the first people to enter the class.

Mia had been very cordial, even friendly to Peter since the fight with Jackie, which had surprised him a little bit, because as much as Peter considered Mia a friend, he knew that Jackie and Mia were closer.

She took a seat next to him, as she had started doing once she and Jackie had become friends.

"How are you?" Peter asked clearing his throat, sounding strangely formal.

"Pretty good," Mia smiled before admitting, "I actually just found out a few seconds ago I got into NYU, early decision."

"That is incredible! Congrats!" Peter laughed, sitting up a little straighter, and feeling very happy for Mia.

"Yeah, the letter just came and I told my mom to open it and I guess I got in," Mia said beaming as bright as Peter had ever seen her smile.

"Wow," Peter said, shaking his head in amazement. It was amazing to see Mia's future falling into place, and while he wasn't as all surprised that Mia had gotten in, a still felt a surge of proudness for her. Then before he could stop himself he began to ask, "Have you told-?" He paused before he said her name.

"Not yet," Mia said, knowing who Peter meant, "But she'll be ecstatic I'm sure. How've you been? Did you do the homework for today?"

"We had homework?" Peter groaned having completely forgotten about the assignment, "Umm I think it's pretty safe to say that I've been better." Peter said, with a sad smile.

Mia nodded but seemed unsure of how to respond. More students began to file into the classroom as class drew closer, "Peter?" Mia asked after a few seconds had passed, and Peter raised an eyebrow at her and in a soft voice Mia asked, "You like her right? As more than a friend?"

Peter considered making up some sort of excuse but instead just nodded and looked down at his desk in embarrassment.

"I knew it," Mia said, not in a boastful way, but in the truthful, forthright way, which Mia was known for, "Give it some time, she's pretty mad right now," Mia suggested and then in her candid way informed Peter, "But eventually Peter, you need to do something. She thinks that you are giving up on her."

"It's just really complicated," Peter said, knowing that even as smart as Mia was, she probably couldn't grasp how serious the stakes could be.

"It always is," Mia shrugged, "But I'm just saying, if you don't want to loose her, you need to do something. Because you two aren't supposed to just fizzle out like this, you two are supposed to be something great."

Now Peter wasn't sure how to respond, so he just nodded. And then the bell rang and the teacher walked in and started talking about what was going to be on the final. Peter and Mia didn't talk for the rest of class, as the teacher pretty much lectured the whole time, but when class ended, Mia gave him a supportive smile and a squeeze on the shoulder, "You're going to be just fine Peter, just do _something_."

"Thanks Mia," Peter said honestly.

"Just quit being such an idiot alright?" Mia requested.

"Will do," Peter laughed.

Then Mia left the class, leaving Peter to think about what he had to do. He didn't know what it was he had to do yet, but as Mia had said, he knew he had to do something, or nothing was going to change.

* * *

"This is _the Daily Bugle_, how can I help you?"

"My papers haven't been coming! I pay $10 a month for _the Bugle_, the least that you can do is to deliver them!" An angry elderly sounding man demanded.

"I'm so sorry about that, let me transfer you to subscriptions and I'm sure they can help you figure it out," Jackie said clicking the buttons on the phone which connected to the app.

Jackie was covering for Betty, who was sick with the flu.

According to Betty, before she herself had been hired, Jameson had gone through assistants every two days. Then Betty had showed up and she could take him. She was the only person that had been able to deal with his lavish requests and his temper tantrums and wasn't afraid to challenge him and put him in his place. Betty had now been working at _the Bugle_ for two and a half years, which was a record for Jameson.

Working as Jameson's assistant for just a few hours, Jackie wasn't sure how Betty did it. Jameson was very demanding and yelled often, Jackie was trying to have Betty's calm but dynamic attitude, but she was glad that Betty would be returning, as it was not a gig that she felt she could have full time.

It didn't help that Jackie was spending the day answering phone calls when she really needed to study for her finals.

It also didn't help that she thought that the man who she was currently assisting, J. Jonah Jameson, was possibly involved in some sort of underground criminal activity.

She had been unable to find any recognizable link between Smythe and Jameson aside from the one photo of them at the gala. However upon looking into Smythe more, it appeared that he and Dr. Connors had been good friends and occasional partners at Oscorp. For a moment it had crossed Jackie's mind that Jameson could the the Big Man, and while she wasn't totally ruling him out, she had heard the way Big Man had talked and interacted with the Oscorp officials, and that did not line up with J. Jonah Jameson's demeanor.

Jackie's return to _The Bugle _had been pretty anti-climactic.

Robbie had been glad to see her but Jameson had forgotten who she was completely. Betty had caught her up and what the reporters knew, which unsurprisingly to Jackie, was nothing. Apparently Moore and Foswell and the other reporters were taking a lot of heat from Jameson who was constantly threatening to fire them. Without Joy they were really struggling.

No other news paper in New York or elsewhere had been able to crack the case and since it had been months since the fires, most people seemed to have forgotten about them. Everyone else was focused on Molten Man but again, no one had been able to get the whole story.

Betty had also told Jackie all about the upcoming annual_ Daily Bugle _New Years Eve party, which all employees, including Jackie, were given an invite to attend. Betty had told Jackie all about how everyone got dressed up and they had catering from one of the best companies in New York, so the food was amazing. Jackie had never really celebrated New Years Eve before, it had always been just her and her mom, and when Maggie was home Maggie, on the couch watching the ball drop, but the party sounded fun so Jackie assured Betty that she would go.

"_Daily Bugle_, how can I help you?" Jackie answered the next incoming call.

"This is Dr. Smythe, from Oscorp. I would like to speak to Mr. Jameson please," the familiar voice of Dr. Smythe drawled over the phone. Jackie froze, afraid for a moment that she was imagining things or that she was going crazy? What were the chances that on the day she was covering for Betty, that the man who had practically threatened her, would call? Unless Smythe called often…

She had not been able to shake the suspicious and creepy vibe that she had gotten from Smythe. Of all of the things that had happened in the crazy case, Smythe knowing who Jackie was and warning her to be careful, was one of the creepiest and had kept her up every night since the field trip.

"Hello? Anyone there" Smythe questioned, with a hint of annoyance.

"Let me transfer you!" Jackie said transferring him to Jameson and trying to disguise her voice a little bit. After a few seconds, the phone in Jameson's office began to ring.

"Who's on the phone?" Jameson thundered from his office.

"Dr. Smythe," Jackie yelled back to him.

"Ah perfect," Jameson said happily, "Smythe my man! How are you? It's been awhile!" he answered the call jovially, "One second," Jackie heard him say into the phone and then heard Jameson call out to her, "Janis?"

"It's Jackie sir," She reminded him.

"Right," Jameson said, obviously not really caring, "Get me a bagel with schmear from across the street. I want it here in three minutes."

Jackie was torn. On the one hand she wanted to hear and see all of the phone call, but on the other hand, she knew that if she didn't have a bagel in Jameson's hand in three minutes she would be in a lot of trouble. Thinking quickly, Jackie left her phone behind on recorder mode to record what it could of the conversation, and then sprinted to the elevator and across the street. She quickly placed the Bagel order and put it on Jameson's tab which Betty paid for every few days. The employees at the Bagel store seemed to know how demanding Jameson was because the order was ready in record time and Jackie made her way up the elevator as fast as she possibly could.

She made it under the time frame, but by the time she got back, the phone call was over. Jackie just hoped that maybe her cell phone had picked up some of what they had said.

Jackie knocked on Jameson's door once before entering with his bagel.

"What?!" Jameson who was facing the other way yelled, but upon seeing it was Jackie said, "Oh it's you."

"Was that a friend of yours on the phone sir?" Jackie asked tentatively as she handed him his bagel. She wasn't sure where the confidence to ask Jameson was coming from but to her surprise he didn't rebuff the question.

"Smythe?" Jameson shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know if I would call him a friend. In this business I don't make a lot of friends. More of an acquaintance really. He's a fan of the Bugle. He said he likes the way we tell our stories," Jameson explained, and Jackie mad a mental note to add the information to the ever growing notebook, "Great man that Smythe. Really knows what he's talking about."

"Ideals? Like what?" Jackie pushed.

"Like what is right and wrong for this city!" Jameson explained passionately, he then squinted his eyes suspiciously, "Why?"

"Just in case he calls again," Jackie said calmly, making up an excuse on the fly, "I want to know who I'm dealing with."

"Smart girl," Jameson said approvingly, "You always want to have the upper hand. The more you know about a person the better."

Suddenly Foswell, the puny reporter who had told Danny Moore to back down from Jackie during her first week at _the Bugle_, burst into the office. Fredrick Foswell certainly did not adhere to classic beauty standards. He had a large forehead and his two front teeth jolted out in a crooked way. He was very quiet, and seemed to fly under the radar for the most part at_ the Bugle_. He took a lot of abuse from Jameson, but seemed to just accept it. He had an unlikely friendship with Danny Moore, his much larger counterpart who Jackie still felt watched her while she worked.

"Sir we've just got news that Paul Barnum was attacked!" Foswell announced loudly.

"That _Daily Globe r_eporter?" Jameson questioned, with a mix of alarm, excitement and interest.

"Yeah sounds like he was attacked in the same way Joy was and that maybe he had a lead on the fire story," Foswell explained.

"Interesting," Jameson nodded, drumming his hand on his desk, after a moment of thinking he exclaimed, "Sounds like a good story. Follow it up. See if you can get any more information!"

"Got it sir!" Foswell said happily, turning to leave the office.

"And Foswell?" Jameson said, stopping him.

"Yes sir?" Foswell turned to face him, looking hopeful, like maybe Jameson might compliment him.

"You look disheveled! I can't have my employees looking like they shop at Goodwill! Wear a tie or something for God's sake," Jameson yelled.

"Got it sir," Foswell repeated with a frown.

"Take Moore with you," Jameson told him.

"He's out on another story right now," Foswell explained.

"Fine," Jameson said waving his hand dismissively, "Go by yourself. Everyone else is useless," Jameson said with a dramatic sigh, "When is Joy Mercado getting back? She's the only one who gets anything done around here."

"Not sure sir," Foswell said quietly.

"Well find out!" Jameson insisted.

"Got it sir," Foswell said in a very eager to please way.

"Stop saying 'got it sir!'" Jameson groaned.

"Got it- I mean of course!"

There was a small pause and Jameson groaned, "Well go!" He yelled at Foswell who ran out of the room, "What are you still doing here?" Jameson questioned accusatively, turning to Jackie this time.

"Do you need anything else Mr. Jameson?" Jackie asked calmly, crossing her arms over her chest, doing her best impression of Betty.

"… No," Jameson said.

"Alright then, let me know if you do," Jackie said with fake confidence as she exited the office. She heard Jameson grunt, which she hoped was out of approval.

She made her way back to Betty's desk at the front. Taking a seat, she watched as Foswell gathered his things and headed out to cover the case.

"Good luck!" Jackie called to him wanting to give him the encouragement that Jameson was unable to give.

"Thanks Jackie!" Foswell said, looking down nervously as the elevator doors opened and he entered, "Hope I find something. This case is so crazy!"

Jackie nodded and gave him a warm smile as the elevator doors closed. She hoped that he would find something about _the Globe _reporter. Jackie wondered what _the Globe _reporter had found. Was it something she knew or some new groundbreaking information?

It was very scary for Jackie to think that the two people who seemed to have a lead on the story, first Joy and now Paul Barnum were both attacked. It made her even more sure that not telling anyone yet was the best call on her part.

The Big Man must have had his henchmen at all the various newspapers, making sure that no newspaper or reporters were getting any closer to figuring out what was going on.

Danny Moore ducked through the elevator door a few minutes later and much to Jackie's chagrin, came right up to where she was sitting. There was something unsettling about him that Jackie couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Is Foswell here?" Moore wondered in his deep voice, towering above her and glowering.

"He left just a few minutes ago," Jackie informed him in a small voice, "He's covering the attack of Paul Barnum."

Moore looked Jackie up and down once before heading back to his desk.

The rest of Jackie's time filling in for Betty was fairly uneventful. Surprisingly Jameson didn't have anymore insane requests and most of it was spent fielding phone calls and when she wasn't busy she tried to sneak in a little bit of studying for finals.

When it came time to leave it was already very dark outside, seeing as it was getting dark so early. The weather people had been predicting snow for the past few days, but it still had yet to happen. Jackie shivered on her way to the subway, still not used to the cold weather.

As she weaved in and out of the Manhattan crowds, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched or followed. She looked over her shoulder a few times to see if she could see anything suspicious but she didn't see anyone who looked like they were watching her.

As she entered the subway, she convinced herself that she was just being paranoid.

* * *

**A/N **Yay for a quick update!

What did you think of the chapter? First off what do you think of Liz? And then Peter and Mia's conversation? Mia got into NYU! And then Smythe calling Jameson and the Daily Globe reporter getting attacked that's pretty suspicious! And what's up with Moore.

I just gotta say that I see how many of you are reading and its so incredible to see how many of you are out there!

**Also I have a proposition for you all: How about if I get up to 100 reviews on this Tuesday, I'll make sure that I have the chapter done by this upcoming Saturday? Sound doable? It's always been a goal of mine to have a story that has 100 reviews!**

If you are interested there is a link to my Jackie and Peter inspiration tumblr on my profile page, if you want to ask me questions there or see some of the pictures and music that inspires me there! There's some cool stuff (I think) so check it out if you want to! You can ask questions anonymously or maybe get previews of sorts so go for it!

Big thanks to the ever loyal **The girl with no life, mun3litKnight and nellie511** who get me to write every time they review! I appreciate it so much as it really keeps me going and excited! Also to **Just Watch Me Fly **and **conner . prescott .92** for the lovely PM's!

I'm really excited for the next 2-3 chapters and I've already written a bunch of the scenes because I can't wait. I think you guys are going to be pretty happy with me too! :) ;) :)

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer (unless you live beneath the equator then hope you are enjoying winter!)


	16. Chapter 16: Open Your Eyes

"I'm not going to make it," Jackie groaned dramatically.

"Yes you are!" Mia assured her, rolling her eyes, "You only have two finals left!"

Jackie and Mia were sat in their usual spot in the library in between finals.

Jackie had just finished her health final, which had been the easiest test she'd ever taken in her life. The class had been kind of a joke, with no reading or homework, but was another requirement from Midtown that Jackie had to take in order to graduate.

Finals week was almost over, but Jackie still had two left, Spanish and English. She wasn't actually very nervous about either but she was just so tired of studying and was ready to be on break. AP Bio didn't have a final so Mia just had one left which made Jackie very jealous.

Chemistry had gone over pretty well and because the government project had been so big, the government final had been very simple and her health final had been common sense. Other than that Jackie had just had a study hall period, which she had used to study for Spanish, which fortunately was not a cumulative final.

"I don't wanna do them," Jackie whined.

"You'll be fine!" Mia said. Mia just had her symphony final next period, which she was going to ace due to her practically being a child prodigy with the cello. Jackie still had yet to hear Mia play the cello but Mia promised to invite her to a concert.

"That's easy for you to say! You are a genius and you already got into NYU so your grades barely matter!" Jackie informed her. Jackie was still brimming with pride that her friend had gotten into NYU early, "If I get a B in Spanish, I am probably going to weep with joy."

"The grades still m—" Mia began but Jackie

"It's not like you are going to just start failing classes left and right now! You are still going to get A's on everything," Jackie told her

Mia sounded like she was going to argue but stopped herself, "Okay that is probably true," Mia agreed. A few seconds passed and Mia drummed her hands nervously on the table before blurting out, "I have something sort of big to tell you!"

"You are dropping out of school to work for the circus?" Jackie wondered jokingly.

"Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it," Mia said with a deep breath, "Eugene asked me out yesterday,"

"Eugene?" Jackie recoiled at first not sure who she was talking about but her eyes widened when she realized who she meant, "Flash? Flash asked you out! Yes I knew it! That's so great! What did he do?"

"We went to go get coffee after the AP Spanish final yesterday and then he told me that he and Liz were officially over, and then he just asked if I'd like to go out sometime," She said, sounding shy.

"I'm so excited for you!" Jackie said, very genuinely happy for her friend.

"I never really thought I would date in high school," Mia mused, "And I never thought I would date 'Flash Thompson' star quarterback. You know he asked me to call him Eugene?"

"He did? That's so sweet," Jackie grinned.

"I know," Mia smiled softly.

"Do I get to call him Eugene now?" Jackie teased.

"I kind of wish I wasn't going to be in D.C., for most of break now," Mia commented

Jackie was pretty bummed that Mia was leaving for Washington D.C. in two days. Because she and Peter weren't talking, she would probably be spending a lot of time with Maggie and at _the Bugle_.

Maggie had scheduled college tours at the rest of the colleges that Jackie had applied too, apart from UC San Francisco. Along with getting Christmas presents for everyone, Jackie still had to get a dress for _the Bugle_'s New Years Eve party, and figure out who had committed two attacks on reporters, who Big Man was, what had happened to Mark Raxton, and how Smythe and Jameson were involved.

So Jackie had a lot planned for her winter break.

"Who lives in D.C. again?" Jackie questioned.

"My aunt," Mia sighed, "She's crazy, but my whole dad's side of the family will be there and I barely get to see my grandparents because they live in Louisiana."

"You'll be back by New Years though right?" Jackie asked, even though she was pretty sure Mia had told her already.

"I get back New Years eve," Mia confirmed, "Gotta spend it with Mom though. The joys of having divorced parents!" She said sarcastically.

"Okay, we are hanging out New Years day though," Jackie told her before grinning, "Unless you have plans with Eugene!" Jackie waggled her eyebrows a little bit, making Mia roll her eyes.

The bell sounded through the library, signaling to Jackie and Mia that it was time for their finals.

"Buena suerte en tu examen de español!" Mia said in Spanish.

Jackie squinted, thinking hard, "Good luck on your Spanish test?" She translated slowly.

"Yes," Mia laughed at Jackie's questioning tone.

"Gracias!" Jackie replied, "Buena suerte with the Bach concerto!"

"Please, I could do that in my sleep," Mia guaranteed her as they went their separate ways.

* * *

It was the first day of snow in the city and Peter was freezing.

Usually Peter loved the first day of snow in New York. The city changed and everybody seemed to really get into the Christmas spirit. It was festive and beautiful. After the first day however, the snow was piled up on the sides of the roads and usually became more like slush due to how many people and cars occupied New York.

The Spider-Man suit was in no way insulated and the snow was really slowing him down. Perched on top of a building in the financial district, Peter shivered a little bit. Even though he looked ridiculous, he had thrown on a hat, scarf and vest. He was probably going to need to buy thermals at some point as he couldn't imagine maintaining his current Spider-Man schedule with the weather.

Since break had started, Peter had pretty much been out and about Manhattan, waiting for Molten Man to strike again, however there hadn't been anymore attacks since Thanksgiving. Peter had to believe, with how the water from the fire hydrant had affected Molten Man, the snow was probably going to keep him inside for a while, however that could be dangerous, seeing as he had already burned down two buildings.

While he waited for Molten Man to appear, Peter had been catching a lot of criminals over break. There seemed to be even more burglaries and crime issues happening around the city making Peter very glad that he didn't have to worry about his school schedule. In the past week he had stopped three muggings, four store robberies and six attempted car break ins.

He hadn't talked to Jackie yet or really figured out a plan of what to do to get them to be friends again, but he knew he had to figure it out soon. He'd been pretty preoccupied with being Spider-Man, but now that he had told Mia that he liked Jackie as more than just a friend, it added a little bit of pressure. He'd kind of always known that he liked Jackie as more than friends, but Mia saying that Jackie and Peter were meant to be something great meant a lot to him. It meant that someone else saw what he felt. He could only hope now that he could repair all of the damage he'd done to their friendship.

We worried about her a lot too. With all of the crime happening in New York and Jackie working at _the Bugle_, he couldn't help but think about if she was safe. A few times he had waited at the subway station that Jackie took home, high above her, making sure that she got home safe. And when he was home he always checked to see if the light in her room was on. It gave him comfort to know she was safe.

The sound of a store alarm in the distance quickly pulled Peter from his thoughts and into Spidey mode.

Leaping from the building with total confidence, Peter soared towards the ground below before shooting off a web which attached to a nearby building and using it to pull him forward. He repeated the action several times, heading towards the sound of the alarm.

There was nothing like the rush that he got while swinging over New York. He'd never experienced anything better. Sometimes when fighting criminals, he got caught up and would forget how amazing his powers were, but he never took for granted his ability to fly above New York City.

Reaching the sound, he found himself at a jewelry store. He heard sirens in the distance but knew there was no way the cops would be able to reach the store before the burglars got away. Scanning the area for suspicious activity, in the alley next to the jewelry store, Peter saw movement and quickly swung his way over, shedding his scarf, hat and vest.

Perched above the criminals on a nearby fire escape, Peter watched as the criminals waited in the alley. They were carrying a bag which even from a distance, Peter could tell was full of jewelry. It also appeared like they had taken all of the cash from the register. The criminals seemed to think they were out of the woods already and had removed their ski masks. There was a man and a woman. The woman was carrying the money, while the man carried the jewelry. The woman was very tall and built while the man was quite a bit smaller, but still fairly intimidating. Well intimidating for anyone other than Spider-Man.

"Where's the Johnny with the car? He was supposed to be here!" the man wondered, looking around anxiously.

"He's an idiot and apparently doesn't understand what a getaway car is. He's comin' though!" the woman next to him assured him.

"We're million bucks richer babe!" The man said giddily pulling her in for a sweeping kiss. The sirens were still several blocks away and out of ear shot for a normal human being.

"This ain't no million buck haul!" the woman commented, pushing the man off of her, seeming very annoyed, "Not after the Big Man takes his cut! We'll be lucky if we even get sixty percent!"

"Shut up!" the man snapped at her "If heard you saying that he'd-"

Big Man? Peter had never heard that name before and wondered who this Big Man was and why he was taking a cut of these burglars job. He must be very powerful to have that kind of control over people that they would be willing to take only sixty percent of a possible million dollar haul.

"I know, I know," the woman groaned and then she grinned, "At least Spider-Man is too busy with Molten Man to actually stop us."

Peter took that as his cue.

"Did someone say my name?" Peter quipped, both the man and the woman's head shot up to where Spider-Man was perched. Without saying a single word to each other, both the man and the woman started running.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to steal things?" Peter told them both swinging down. Locking in on his target, he easily shot a web that hit the man square in the back. With one easy motion Peter, jerked him back which caused him to trip. Peter quickly shot one web at the jewelry bag which he easily caught and then shot two more webs at the man. One web trapped his feet together, while the other trapped his entire torso to the ground. The man struggled within his restraints, but to no avail.

"Hey!" He cried out frantically to his partner who was just starting to turn the corner, "Get back here and help me!" Sarah didn't stop though and instead kept running, "Just wait until I get my hands on you you insect freak!" The man spat at Spider-Man.

Peter sighed, "You know, Spiders are actually arachnids, not insects, it's a common misconception but they have eight legs while-," He began to explain, in his usual Spider-Man way, however remembering that one of the crooks was still getting away he stopped, "I gotta scoot but I'll tell you all about it later alright?"

The man let out a sound of frustration but Peter knew he was stuck. The sirens were just a block away now but as Peter swung out of the alley and onto a nearby roof, he saw the woman get into the getaway car which had just arrived.

"Drive!" He heard the woman scream and the driver obeyed, slamming the accelerator.

"Ugh, I so didn't want this to turn into a chase," Peter muttered to himself.

Two cop had finally showed up on the scene. Two cops exited a car.

"Here you go!" Peter dropped the bag of jewelry down to them which one of the cops easily caught, their initial look of surprise turned into relief when they realized it was Spider-Man. Although the cops had originally been very skeptical and dubious of Spider-Man, they now had a sort of respect for each other, "There's one in the alley and the other is in that car up there!" Then without waiting for them to answer, Peter quickly started off after the woman, the driver and the money she had stolen. A few moments later, Peter heard a cop car screech behind him with sirens on, adding to the chase.

The getaway car was already several blocks ahead, but Peter really didn't have any trouble catching up with them. They were going through every red light and causing major traffic problems as people had to swerve out of the way. Also because it was the first day of snow, the roads were already slippery, causing the car to swerve and slip all over the ground.

Once he had caught up completely, Peter, in one fluid motion, leapt down towards the car and landed on the hood with a thud. The woman screamed in shock at seeing Spider-Man again.

"What the-" The driver started, trying to look around Peter who was blocking his view. There were now four police cars trailing behind the getaway car, with the police calling out on a megaphone for the getaway car to stop.

"I don't think you understand!" Peter called to the driver, "The red light means you are supposed to stop!"

The woman dug out a gun from her purse and rolled down her window, aiming the gun at Peter who rolled his eyes. Just as the first shot went off, Peter flipped onto the top of the car, "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," Peter sighed.

Peter noticed that several cop cars were placed around, blocking off cars from entering the street to make sure that no civilians in cars were put into danger.

Looking up however, he saw that there was a young blonde woman crossing the street wearing headphones, totally oblivious to the high speed chase going on and the incoming cars going much over the speed limit. Knowing that he had to get her out of the way, Peter shot a web in which attached right nearby the crosswalk. She had realized her situation a few seconds too late and seemed paralyzed in the street, unsure of which way to turn. She screamed, recoiling away from the cars and at the last second, Peter swung into the street and caught her, just before the getaway car and police cars zoomed by.

Placing her in safety, across the street Peter turned to continue the chase when he heard a familiar voice, "Oh my god! Spider-Man?"

Peter instantly recognized Liz Allan, Flash's ex-girlfriend who Peter had had a crush on for years before Jackie had come into the picture. She looked frazzled by the events that had just ensued, but very grateful, "Thank you so much!"

"No problem, just look both ways before you cross the street next time!" Peter suggested to her. Peter didn't have time to dwell on how strange it was that he had just saved Liz Allan from being hit by a car and instead continued the pursuit.

Catching up once again, Peter said firmly to himself, "Alright this has gone on long enough. This ends now." He swung down to the car again, but this time he attached himself to the front bumper. A few gunshots were fired at him, but Peter easily dodged them.

Peter shot one web several feet ahead, and then another one at about the same distance and then held on. As he had planned, as the car zoomed past where Peter had stuck the webs, the car was forced to slow down to a complete stop when the stretchy webs became taut. Once he was sure that the car had stopped, Peter let go of the webs.

"I'm getting to old for this stuff," Peter groaned, flexing his arms in pain.

The driver and the woman attempted to exit the car to escape once again but Peter quickly slung the money away from her, ""I'll take that," Peter told her before shooting a web at her feet which brought her toppling to the ground. Going over to the driver, he shot a web that covered the drivers eyes and caused him to trip over a nearby curb due to his lack of vision. The police had all exited their car and had their guns pointed at the two criminals.

"Hands above your head," an officer shouted, and Peter quickly recognized him as the young cop who had interviewed Jackie after the Joy Mercado attack. The criminals reluctantly placed their hands above their heads and Peter quickly swung up so that he was perched on a nearby street light. He watched as the cops handcuffed the two criminals and lead them to the cop car.

"Spider-Man!" the young cop yelled from below.

"What's your name?" Peter called back to him.

"Officer Nguyen but-" he started.

"Officer Nguyen, here's what its like to hold a million dollars," Peter yelled, dropping the cash that he had taken from the woman down to Officer Nguyen before swinging away. He was okay talking to cops, but he didn't want any questions about his identity.

"Wait Spider-Man!" the officer called after him.

"Ask them about Big Man!" Peter recommended as he swung away. The young cop looked as if he was almost tempted to follow after Spider-Man, but eventually turned to help assess their current situation, and Peter hoped, to ask about Big Man.

Peter felt a sense of accomplishment at catching all three people involved in the robbery and chase, not to mention the fact that he'd saved Liz Allan. He vaguely noticed that he wasn't cold anymore and grinned.

Now Peter just had one question: Who was the Big Man?

* * *

"We did it!" Maggie said happily, holding up her hand for a high five, which Jackie quickly gave her.

Jackie and Maggie had just completed their second college tour of the day, which meant they had officially visited all of the New York schools that Jackie had applied too.

Of the school they had recently visited, Jackie had really like NYU and the New School, meanwhile Hunter College, Pace University and Hofstra were lower down on her list although she hadn't strongly disliked any of them. Empire State was still her favorite school, and Maggie said it was the school that she could picture Jackie at the most. It was medium sized and even though it was in the city, it had it's own campus. If she got in, was most likely her top pick. Now she just had to wait and see where she was accepted, but she wouldn't start getting acceptance letters until after New Years.

With Mia gone and Maggie's school on break too the sisters had been hanging out a lot.

The night before they had set up the Christmas tree, with Elliot's help. Jackie had brought all of the ornaments from San Francisco with her, so those combined with Maggie and Elliot's collection meant that the tree was almost completely covered in ornaments. Elliot hadn't gotten into decorating as much as he had with Halloween, but the front of the house was still decked out with lights and mechanical reindeers. Whenever Jackie wasn't at_ the Bugle _had gone on a Christmas movie marathon and were there was almost always a cup of cocoa in their hands.

It was strange celebrating the holidays without her mom. It always felt like there was something missing. But Maggie and Jackie were making the best of it without forgetting their mother and were keeping their holiday traditions going.

Maggie had taken Jackie to the ice rink in Central Park, and up to the Empire State Building, and to go see the tree in Rockefeller Center, all of the classic New York sites. It was fun being a tourist as usual Jackie's time in Manhattan consisted of her getting too and from _the Bugle_. They'd gone shopping all over Manhattan looking for Christmas presents. Jackie now had presents for Elliot, Maggie and Mia. She'd also gotten small gifts for Robbie and Betty.

Maggie had almost had a meltdown trying to find Elliot's present, but had finally settled on a nice watch. Elliot's parents were coming up from North Carolina a few days before Christmas too, so there was the added pressure for Maggie to try and impress his mother and father. Even though they had met several times, Maggie was always very stressed out about having them like her and approve of her.

"Where to now?" Maggie questioned as the snow crunched beneath their boots.

"Do you know any stores around here?" Jackie asked, thinking about her checklist of things to do, "I still need a dress of _the Bugle _party!" Betty had been telling Jackie all about the dress that she was going to be wearing, and kept asking Jackie to see a picture of her dress.

"Hmm…" Maggie said thinking for a moment before her eyes lit up, "Actually there's this boutique just a few blocks away that I went to all the time when I went to NYU! The prices are pretty good. Do you want to check it out?"

"Sure," Jackie shrugged. Maggie and Jackie had pretty similar styles when it came to clothes so Jackie trusted Maggie.

"There's always fifth ave if you want more of the name brands but at this time of the year it will be totally mobbed," Maggie explained, "Or Soho and Dumbo have a lot of cute little boutiques too!"

"Dumbo?" Jackie wondered, shivering a little bit.

"Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass," "It's a really cute little neighborhood."

"Good to know," Jackie smiled, glad to have a sister that knew New York so well.

They walked in a comfortable silence for about a block before Maggie suddenly asked, "Any chance that you and Peter are going to make up before Christmas?"

"I don't know," Jackie said biting her lip, "The ball is in his court right now."

"May says she misses you coming over," Maggie said with a sad smile, "I ran into her the other day. She says Peter has seemed pretty miserable."

"Hmm…" Jackie nodded, not sure what to say.

"Just don't be too hard on him okay?" Maggie requested and Jackie nodded in return.

Jackie hadn't seen Peter at all since school had finished. At least when they had been fighting, she'd seen him at school, now she had no clue how or what he was doing. Sometimes she would look across the street, towards his house to see if she could see him in the living room or in his room, but she hadn't been able to so far. She wanted so much for their fight to be over but she just couldn't let go that he was keeping something serious from her. She also wondered if she could go back to being just friends with Peter, now that she had realized that she liked him. It probably wouldn't be easy but she would prefer being just friends with Peter to not talking to him at all.

"How much farther? I'm freezing!" Jackie asked, linking arms with Maggie. Even with her hat, gloves, scarf and coat, she was cold.

"One more block!" Maggie told her.

Both girls practically burst into the store to get out of the store, causing the sales lady to give them a questioning confused look before greeting them. The store, called Ordinary Miracle, was nice, but not aggressively fancy or overpriced or pretentious, which Jackie liked. It had hard wood floors, and a lot of variety in styles.

Maggie and Jackie headed straight for the dress section and started browsing.

"What about this one?" Maggie said holding out beautiful a vibrant green dress with a plummeting neckline and intricate sheer sleeves. Jackie thought it was beautiful but immediately saw a major flaw in it.

"I can't…" Jackie trailed off looking down.

"Why not?" Maggie asked, confused, tilting her head to the side.

"It wouldn't cover my scars," Jackie reminded Maggie of her burn scars. Because it had been so cold, Jackie had been wearing sweaters and a lot of layers, so she hadn't had to worry about covering her scars very much, but it didn't mean that she was any less self conscious or accepting of them.

"Right," Maggie remembered, immediately looking guilty, "Okay so a high neck dress…" She said putting the dress back, and revising her shopping plan.

After a bit of looking, Maggie found a black dress which had beautiful gold embellishments all over the front of it. Before she even tried it on, Jackie loved it. Trying it on though, it fit Jackie perfectly. It fell just a little bit above her knees and was high necked so it came up over her collarbone. It was form fitting, without being body con, which Jackie liked because it wasn't restraining and was appropriate for where she interned. It was possible that the edges of her scars would be a little bit seen, however Jackie figured with a little bit of concealer, and with her hair down, nobody would notice.

"Oh my God!" Maggie gasped when Jackie came out of the changing room, "That's the one! It's perfect!"

"You think?" Jackie asked, even though she couldn't think of a reason to not like the dress.

"You look so grown up!" Maggie cooed looking like she was holding back tears, "I have a pair of heels that would look perfect with it… and maybe some earrings!" She nodded, with a vision in mind, "Yes this is the one!"

Maggie bought the dress for Jackie, despite her protests and said it was an early Christmas present.

After shopping, Jackie had to bid Maggie farewell as it was time for her to get to _The Bugle_.

Jackie hadn't come any closer to cracking the case.

The recording that she had gotten of Smythe and Jameson's phone call had not been very helpful. It had mainly consisted of Jameson grunting and then saying "He's a menace I tell you! Someone needs to get rid of him!" This was the way that Jameson usually talked about Spider-Man but Jackie couldn't think of why Jameson would be talking to Smythe about Spider-Man. It was possible that they were talking about Molten Man, which made Jackie question how much Jameson knew about Molten Man.

As the doors opened to _the Bugle_, the first thing Jackie saw was Joy Mercado standing at Betty's desk. Betty was not at her desk though. Betty was in Jameson's office holding a coffee and listening to him rant.

"Joy!" Jackie called to her in shock.

Joy turned to Jackie and smiled. She looked much better than the last time Jackie had seen her in the hospital. All of her bruises were gone and aside from a small barely noticeable scar on her chin, she looked the same. Her hair was a bit shorter now, but still lay in glorious waves at her shoulders. She looked healthy and well rested.

"Hey kid!" Joy greeted her with a big hug, which surprised Jackie, but she accepted "I don't think I ever got to properly thank you for saving my life!"

"I'm just so glad I got there in time!" Jackie told her honestly, having flashbacks to seeing Joy in such a bad state, "You sure scared us all!"

"I know, I'm so sorry about that," Joy said shaking her head, "I didn't mean to put you in any danger either but I'm not going to lie to you, it's part of the job. It was bound to happen sometime or another to me seeing as I take a lot of risks."

Jackie nodded but what she said made Jackie's stomach turn a little bit, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great!" Joy told her enthusiastically. It was amazing to Jackie how Joy had gone through so much but was so upbeat. Maybe it was just her way of coping. "I went out to Texas to visit my family for a little bit and rested and it was great to be on vacation but I'm really glad to be home and I'm ready to get back to work."

"Can I ask if you… if you…" Jackie tried to phrase the question but couldn't get it out.

"Remember anything?" Joy filled in but to Jackie's dismay she shook her head, "I'm so sorry Jackie I don't. I can't believe it either but the doctors said that the trauma to my head caused amnesia. You always hear about it but experiencing it is just so awful. They said I might get some of the memories back over time but I just don't know right now. I can't remember anything from that week really.

"That's okay," Jackie assured her, trying not to show her disappointment "I'm just glad you're okay."

A big part of Jackie had been hoping that Joy remembered something so that Jackie would have someone to confide in or a new lead or explanation. But she didn't remember anything. She didn't remember who her lead from the fire had been or saying 'Mark Raxton' to Jackie. And as much as Jackie wanted to tell everything to Joy now, she couldn't risk putting a target on Joy's back again.

"I just heard about that guy from _the Globe_, pretty scary stuff," Joy sighed shaking her head bitterly, "He sounds like he's in a lot worse shape than I was in. Someone is obviously targeting us reporters which is not good. But the truth always comes out."

The elevator doors opened again, revealing Frederick Foswell and Danny Moore who were coming back from an assignment. Roswell was wearing a large coat that made him seem twice as large as he actually was. Foswell's face brightened upon seeing Joy and he rushed over to her. Danny on the other hand, slinked away towards his desk, avoiding any contact with her. Jackie narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. There was just something about Danny that had always rubbed Jackie the wrong way. She made a mental not to pay more attention to him. She didn't really have any reason to think he was involved in everything, but she had a feeling and she knew that intuition was important to journalists.

"Mercado! Glad to have you back!" Foswell said happily coming to greet her with a handshake.

"Heard you guys have been useless without me!" Joy teased.

"Yeah we need you back on the team," Foswell admitted.

"Foswell!" Jonah said storming out of his office. Betty stood in the doorway, exchanging a look with Jackie that made her laugh a little bit. "Where have you been?" Jameson demanded.

"Spider-Man stopped a store robbery and was in a car chase down Park Avenue!" Foswell explained, "It was so crazy! He-"

"Got any pictures?" Jameson cut him off abruptly.

"I got a few sir," Foswell said timidly handing Jameson his camera.

Jameson frowned at the screen and shook his head, "These are all garbage Foswell!" "When are we going to get a someone that's able to get a few decent pictures of the web head?" Jameson was right. For all the time that Spider-Man had been active, the pictures of him by any new outlet were few and far between. They were usually taken from a distance and often blurry or missing him in action. There were a lot of video clips of him but those were not very helpful for a newspaper company.

"I don't know," Foswell said in a small voice.

"Next time take a real photographer with you!" Jameson yelled and then turning to Joy announced loudly, "And Mercado!" She raised her eyebrows at him at him expectantly and his expression softened a little bit, "Glad to have you back." He muttered before going back into his office.

"Thank you sir," Joy said grinning, "I'll talk to you later Jackie," Joy said giving Jackie's shoulder a light squeeze before heading over to her desk.

Betty shook her head at Jameson's antics, "He's such a child sometimes."

"I'm just glad you are back!" Jackie told her honestly, "Covering for you that one day was probably one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life!"

"You get used to him after a while. He's a good man. He just has no control whatsoever over his emotions. God Bless his wife," Betty explained.

"I got a dress," Jackie informed Betty whose eyes widened in delight.

"Finally!" Betty said, "Let me see it!"

Jackie pulled out her phone and showed Betty the picture that Maggie had taken of her in the dress.

"Oh my god! It's perfect!" Betty gave a nod of approval, "You are going to be the second hottest girl at this the party!"

"Wow thanks Betty," Jackie said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Betty laughed with a shrug, "I'm just telling it like it is."

Jackie smiled, but as she walked over to Robbie's office, to see if he needed any help with anything, she couldn't help but be a little bit frustrated. She was doing everything she could to find out what was going on with Smythe and Jameson and Molten Man and Mark Raxton and Big Man and Oscorp, but she was reaching so many dead ends. It would have been really incredible if she could have gotten a break with Joy remembering or if anything in the case connected and made sense.

However, she knew she had to keep going. She was going to figure it out.

And as Joy had said, the truth always came out.

* * *

**A/N: **THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

You guys got me to over 100 reviews! I'm so incredibly thankful and happy to have achieved one of my goals! Even though I update so sporadically, it's crazy to think that I've been working on this story for two years! You all helped me achieve a goal of mine though so thank you!

So as promised, because you all got me to 100 reviews, here is the chapter update, posted much before Saturday, because I love you all so much! I'm kind of on a roll with writing and as I said last time, I'm super excited for the next few chapters!

I added a scene with Peter fighting criminals because I realized rereading the story that aside from Molten Man, every time Peter was about to go fight, I would cut to a different scene! Writing action scenes doesn't come to me super naturally so I hope it's alright. If I could go back, I would probably add a lot more scenes like it but c'est la vie!

BIG THANKS TO REVIEWERS: **gunnagooner, LoveisforEternity, 1MoreInMe1, JediKendalina, mun3litKnight, nellie515, SurvivorTierEXO, The girl with no life, Beatbox309, aleleigh, StoneHearted **and the two **guests! **It was so incredible to get so many lovely reviews and my stomach did flips every time I got updated that there was a new update!

Also got to give a shout out to everyone who follows, I have kind of just come to realize how crazy it is that the story has so many followers and favorites and I appreciate every single one of them.

Also again, if you would like to see my inspiration tumblr that is dedicated to this story, feel free to check that out on my account page! If you are interested, you can ask me some character or plot questions (anonymous if you so desire) and see the music that inspires me (fun fact, every chapter name is after a song title) and some images of what I think of with Peter and Jackie! (Let me know if it doesn't work or something too!)


	17. Chapter 17: Without You

"Jackie! Wake up! Wake up!" Maggie shook Jackie awake.

Jackie's eyes shot open, "What? What's wrong? What's happening?" Jackie sat up, looking around worriedly.

"Oh my God! Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" Maggie assured her soothingly, sitting down on her bed, "It's Christmas morning Jackie!" She said excitedly.

"Oh," Jackie said slumping back down in bed with relief. Due to Jackie's current paranoia and nightmare situation, her mind had immediately gone to emergency rather than Christmas morning.

Due to it being Christmas though, Jackie had promised herself that she wouldn't think about the case for the whole day unless she had a major breakthrough or there was important news. She had hit a bit of a dead end with the case and had not made much progress in the past few days. Although she was not going to let it stop her, it was a little discouraging.

"You know you used to be the one waking me up on Christmas morning!" Maggie reminded Jackie, pulling her out of her trance "It was so cute! You would run into our rooms at five a.m. and wake Mom and me up and insist that we had to open the presents immediately! And then if we didn't wake up, you would start singing. And if that didn't work you would jump on the beds."

"Wow I sound really annoying," Jackie said.

"Oh it was," Maggie nodded, "But at least you were cute."

"Thanks," Jackie said sarcastically.

Maggie stood, "Okay, take your time but, Phil and Elliot are cooking downstairs and we are going to open presents soon. Sound good?"

"No I actually hate breakfast and presents," Jackie told her jokingly. She did notice that the whole house smelled like gingerbread though, which was a very inviting smell to wake up too.

"Get ready you goof," Maggie instructed before heading towards the door, "Merry Christmas Jackie!"

"Merry Christmas," Jackie smiled back before stretching and standing up to get ready. Normally, Jackie would do Christmas morning in her pajamas, however with Elliot's parents in town, she felt the need to not look quite as messy.

Elliot's parents were incredible and they had both been very welcoming to Jackie since their arrival from North Carolina a few days prior.

They were younger than Jackie had imagined them, only in their mid fifties.

Elliot's mother, Hazel, had aged beautifully. With beautiful golden hair and an affinity for red lipstick she was elegant and struck Jackie as a free spirit. The moment that Hazel had seen Jackie she had embraced her and made Jackie feel like they had known each other for years.

Elliot's father, Phil, was much shorter than Elliot and wore stylish horn-rimmed glasses. He always had a sarcastic comeback or witty remark and was very intelligent.

Changing into a Christmasy sweater and her most comfortable pair of jeans and slipping on a pair of slippers, Jackie headed downstairs to find a feast of gingerbread pancakes, monte cristo sandwiches and a quiche. Phil was a chef, who ran a very successful restaurant in North Carolina, which was why Elliot knew how to cook so well. Hazel ran the business operations, while Phil ran the kitchen. Apparently Elliot had spent most of his childhood helping out in the restaurant. Since arriving Jackie had consumed the most delicious meals of her life. There was also a surplus of peppermint bark and Christmas cookies. It was safe to say that Jackie had never had a Christmas morning breakfast quite so fancy.

The Christmas tree was all lit up and there was an assortment of presents scattered underneath. Jackie had never been very skilled at wrapping presents so she had simply placed her gifts in bags. She noticed an especially large box under the tree that had not been there the night before but she couldn't tell who it was for.

"Good morning honey!" Hazel greeted Jackie from the dining room, "Come get some pancakes while they are still hot!"

"Everything smells amazing," Jackie complimented as she made her way to the dining room table, piling two pancakes onto her plate, "Thank you Phil and Elliot." Hazel had explained to Jackie the day prior that she hadn't cooked food for herself in in thirty years which Jackie admired greatly.

"Wait until you taste it!" Maggie said with a sigh. Elliot and Maggie were on the couch with Maggie's legs draped over Elliot in the perfect picture of domesticity.

"Are you sure you don't want anymore Maggie?" Hazel wondered as she took a seat, eating her quiche.

"I can't eat any more! I've already have four pancakes!" Maggie said shaking her head and placing her hand on her stomach, "Four is a lot right?"

"Depends on the context. Dollars no, murders yes," Phil commented, looking up from his newspaper with a wry smile.

"What about pancakes?" Jackie asked, "Is four a lot of pancakes?"

Pausing a moment to think Phil commented, "I think four qualifies as a proper stack of pancakes."

"What about dogs?" Jackie asked as she drizzled syrup all over her pancakes and helped herself to a slice of quiche.

"Is four a lot of dogs?" Phil confirmed her question to which Jackie nodded, "Hmm… depends, what we are talking here. Pugs? Great Danes? Golden retriever?"

"Remember that golden retriever that lived next door to us?" Hazel asked changing the topic completely, directing the question towards Elliot and Phil, "Oh, what was his name?"

"Teddy?" Phil answered.

"No that wasn't it," Hazel shook her head.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure that was it," Elliot agreed with Phil.

"No it was… Terry? No. Taffy? No… Taggy? No that wasn't it either," Hazel wracked her brain.

"Who has a dog named Taggy?" Elliot questioned causing Maggie to laugh.

Hazel's eyes grew wide, "Oh it _was_ Teddy! You were right! He was such a sweet dog!" She remembered fondly.

"He bit me and I had to go to the hospital for stitches," Elliot reminded her.

"You pulled his tail dear, what did you expect to happen?" Hazel shook her head.

"Thanks," Elliot said sarcastically, "Glad to know you are so protective over me."

"Oh honey! I'd take a bullet for you," Hazel assured him, "Not anything fatal but a slight graze or something in the leg!" Jackie and Maggie both cracked up while Elliot rolled his eyes.

"Alright I think its present time," Elliot announced changing the subject again.

"My favorite time," Maggie told him grinning.

And so the present opening began. Maggie first opened her present from Jackie. Jackie had gotten Maggie a sweater and fancy perfume she had found which smelled like vanilla. It had reminded Jackie of their mothers perfume. Next, Elliot opened a food processor from Hazel and Phil which he seemed very excited about. Then it was Jackie's turn where she opened her present from Elliot, which was a subscription to _The New Yorker_, which was actually a very thoughtful gift. Then it was Hazel's turn and she opened her present from Maggie, which was a cashmere robe and bath bombs and soaps. Then Phil opened his present from Elliot, which was a complete James Bond film collection, because apparently he loved James Bond.

"Which one should I open now?" Maggie wondered when it was her turn again, scanning under the tree.

"Open the big one," Elliot suggested to Maggie, nodding to the large package with Santa wrapping that sat under the tree. It was a very large box. The only time when Jackie had ever received a present that big was during Christmas when she was four years old and she had received a Barbie dream house.

"Who's it from?" Maggie wondered and checking the card grinned as she turned to Elliot, "Aw babe! Is it that espresso maker I asked for? Or the vacuum I wanted?" Elliot just shrugged but Jackie noticed that he was biting his lip to hide his smile.

Maggie easily unwrapped the present which revealed a nondescript box which she opened. However instead of a present, she unveiled a slightly smaller box, gift wrapped just the same as the other one, "A box!" Maggie said with fake enthusiasm. Maggie unwrapped the second box to reveal a third box wrapped just the same.

"Oh great another box," Maggie commented sarcastically as she opened a fourth box, only to reveal another box, "Is this a joke Elliot?" Maggie asked narrowing her eyes at him, trying to read him, to which Elliot just smirked. Hazel was watching her son in confusion, trying to figure out what he was up to, while Phil looked on with a knowing smile.

Maggie opened eight boxes total, each one revealing another smaller box inside, like nesting dolls. Then she got to the last box.

"This better be the last one!" Maggie threatened. She ripped open the last box, shaking her head at Elliot's antics. However when she looked at the contents of the box, her eyes grew very wide and Jackie immediately knew what was going on.

The last box contained a small black velvet box. The kind of box that only held one thing.

Hazel let out an audible gasp and Jackie's jaw fell open. She had always known that Elliot and Maggie would get married, but seeing it now, she couldn't help but feel nervous and overjoyed for both of them. She immediately took out her phone and started filming, knowing that it as a memory that Maggie would want to remember.

"Oh my…" Maggie said in a quiet voice, seeming beyond shocked.

She turned to Elliot, who had gotten down on to one knee and tears of happiness began flowing from her eyes. Elliot gently took the box from Maggie and opened it, turning it towards Maggie to show a beautiful but yet simple engagement ring. Maggie put a hand over her mouth in surprise, trying to compose herself.

"Maggie Carter, will you-" Elliot began, he was shaking a little bit

"Yes," Maggie cut him off before he could even finish the question. It was at that point that Jackie started crying too, because everything in her sisters life was coming together, and all of her dreams were coming true, and Jackie was ecstatic.

Elliot laughed, looking at her like she was his entire world, "I didn't even get to-"

"Yes!" Maggie nodded fiercely, cutting him off again. Jackie and Elliot's parents both laughed at Maggie's eagerness.

"Don't you want me too-" Elliot tried again.

"Yes!" Maggie cried, pulling Elliot up to her and hugging him tightly before kissing him several times, "Yes!" Maggie squealed, "Oh my god! Yes!" Maggie pulled Elliot in for one more passionate kiss. Hazel was crying too and Phil looked very proud.

"Put the ring on!" Hazel prompted excitedly.

"Oh right!" Maggie said and she held out her left hand for Elliot who slipped the ring on her ring finger easily.

"Its so beautiful!" Hazel exclaimed, "You are going to be the most beautiful bride!"

"Sorry it's not an espresso maker or a vacuum," Elliot said sheepishly.

"Oh my god!" Maggie laughed, wiping away tears, "This is the best present I could have asked for. I love you so much!"

"I love you too," Elliot said back easily.

"I'm engaged!" Maggie cheered, turning to everyone else and Jackie took the opportunity to go hug Maggie.

"Congrats," Jackie whispered to Maggie, unsure of how to convey how happy she was.

"Thanks," Maggie said holding her tightly.

"I told you he would propose!" Jackie told Maggie, but then turning to Elliot said, "You certainly took your time though!"

Elliot laughed, turning a little red, "Sorry Jackie, I was going to ask for your permission Jackie but I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone!"

"Well I guess I give my permission," Jackie grinned.

"I appreciate that," Elliot nodded.

"Congrats son," Phil said, going over and giving his son a hug, "I'm proud of you."

"I wish she had opened your present last though, because no present can top that one!" Hazel announced and it was true.

They took a break from opening presents for a while so Maggie and Elliot could call a few people about the engagement. Jackie wished so badly that their mother was there to see the proposal, because she knew how happy and excited she would be, but she was so glad that Elliot had included her and that she had witnessed them getting engaged.

"I'm going to go take a nap," Phil said standing up from the couch.

"Its only noon," Jackie commented.

"Time is an illusion, my tiredness is real," Phil explained and Jackie shook her head, holding back a smile. Phil and Hazel were going to be the best grandparents if and when Elliot and Maggie had children, "I'll start on dinner when I wake up." He then disappeared upstairs to the guest room that Maggie had set up which acted as Elliot's office most of the time.

"Where did Phil go?" Hazel wondered, entering the room with a cup of coffee.

"To sleep I guess," Jackie explained.

Hazel scoffed, "That man. I swear. He would never wake up if it wasn't for me. Well I guess we are taking a long intermission before we finish opening presents," She announced as Maggie reentered the room.

"Who did you call?" Jackie asked.

"Jane and Carrie," Maggie answered. They were Maggie's two closest friends from NYU.

"Were they excited?" Hazel questioned.

"Very," Maggie confirmed, "There was a lot of screaming, especially when I told them they were going to be my bridesmaids," turning to Jackie she said, "You are going to be my maid of honor though!"

"Really?" Jackie exclaimed happily "Oh my god! I will not disappoint you! I'm going to give the best maid of honor speech of all time!"

"I'm sure you will," Maggie nodded proudly.

"When are you thinking you'll have the wedding?" Hazel asked curiously.

"I mean I'll have to talk to Elliot about it of course but I'm not in too much of a rush. I think we'll wait until at least summer if not later," Maggie explained to which Hazel nodded understandingly.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, "I'll go get it," Hazel offered, standing and heading towards the door before Jackie and Maggie could move.

"I'm so excited to plan this wedding," Maggie squealed happily.

"Like you haven't had it planned since the day you met Elliot," Jackie commented, shaking her head, "I've seen your Pinterest board."

"Jackie darling!" Hazel called from the front door, "There's a gentleman caller at the door for you!"

Jackie immediately knew who it was. She thought about making an excuse but knew that it was time to talk to him. Maggie gave her an encouraging smile as she headed for the door.

Jackie was unsurprised to see Peter standing in the doorway. He was wearing a black beanie, a navy thermal and a puffy vest and Jackie couldn't ignore how cute she thought he looked.

"I'm Hazel," Hazel said introducing to Peter who looked a little confused, "And you are?"

"Peter. Peter Parker. I live across the street," Peter explained, pointing over to her house.

Walking up behind Hazel, Jackie explained, "This is Elliot's mother." Peter made eye contact with Jackie and gave her a weak smile before nodding and turning back to Hazel.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you," He said kindly. Peter was so good with all adults. Jackie had never met an adult that didn't like Peter.

There was a pause before Hazel excused herself smirking, "Well I guess that is my cue. You kids have fun." Jackie cringed, hoping that Hazel wouldn't ask her about Peter later but knowing that she probably would.

Once Hazel was out of ear shot, Peter greeted Jackie nervously, "Hey…"

"Hey," Jackie repeated, a little frustrated that after a few weeks of not talking, Peter had decided to lead with an unsure 'Hey.'

"Can I talk to you?" He questioned.

"Sure," Jackie nodded, feeling a certain sense of detachment, "Let's talk outside." She grabbed her coat off the nearby hook and slid it on before exiting onto the porch. It was cold but not as cold as it had been a few days before. There was still snow on the ground and she could see her breath but Jackie was finally getting used to the cold.

"Um, how are you?" Peter began.

"I'm okay," Jackie shrugged, it felt strange to be so formal with Peter, "How are you?"

"Fine," He nodded, although he didn't really sound fine. Jackie noticed he was holding something behind his back.

"Jackie I-" Peter started but then cut himself off as he looked down at the ground in shame, "I'm so sorry," He said looking incredibly disappointed in himself, "I never meant for it to be like this," he attempted to explain, "Its just really complicated and I want to… I mean I really do want to tell you that… I want to tell you things but I don't… I just don't…" Peter couldn't form the right sentences and eventually just trailed off.

Jackie sighed, "I know you didn't mean for it to be like this Peter," she said understandingly but then added, "But you get why I'm upset right? All I want is for you to be a honest with me and for some reason you can't and I don't understand what's holding you back."

"I get why you're upset. And I know I'm doing an awful job of explaining myself," Peter said and Jackie believed him that Peter's intention was not to hurt her. Peter was not a mean spirited guy.. Peter was just a normal human being that made mistakes and a teenage boy that didn't know how to solve every problem.

Continuing Peter explained, "I just wanted you to know that I was just trying to give you space. I wasn't giving up on us, I mean, you know, our friendship and everything.? It's really important to me… You're really important to me and I don't want to loose you like this." He rambled as Jackie tried to make eye contact with him.

"I don't want to loose you either," Jackie told Peter honestly, running her fingers through her hair in frustration, "but I don't know if things can just be the same as they were you know? You really hurt me." From their current conversation, it didn't sound like Peter was going to tell her anything which was disappointing, but Jackie was glad he was at least making some sort of an effort for their friendship.

"I know, I know," Peter nodded understandingly, "I got you a present. I'm not trying to, like, buy your friendship back. I got it because its Christmas so…" Peter explained, revealing what he had behind his back which was a medium sized wrapped box. He held it out to Jackie.

"Peter you totally didn't have to get me anything," Jackie said shaking her head in surprise, not immediately accepting the present.

"I wanted too," Peter shrugged.

"Now I feel guilty, I didn't get you anything!" Jackie told him honestly.

"That's okay," Peter informed her, "I didn't get you this expecting that you had gotten me something too. I got it for you because you deserve it because I've been a jerk."

Peter passed the present over to Jackie and a few things rattled around in the box, "I'll open it later I guess," Jackie said setting the present down on the porch bench next to her, "Thank you," she said crossing her arms over her chest in a comforting way.

"Of course," Peter said, giving Jackie a warm smile. She almost melted by how soft and kind his eyes were watching her so intently. It was the way she'd always wanted a boy to look at her. Like he knew her and cared about what she had to say. And just for a second Jackie let herself think about what it would be like to kiss Peter. She quickly pushed the thought away though, knowing that even though he was being very sweet, it wasn't going to happen at the moment.

"Maggie and Elliot got engaged," Jackie offered, not ready for their interaction to be over quite yet. Although she was still hoping that Peter would be honest with her, she was willing to give in a little bit even if he didn't tell her everything. Whatever was holding him back was pretty serious by how sorry he felt.

"They did?" Peter asked excitedly and Jackie nodded, "That's amazing! When?"

Jackie smiled too as she recalled the recent event, "Like an hour ago," she explained, "It was so sweet. Elliot had her open a bunch of boxes inside boxes and then the last one had the ring in it."

"Leave it to Elliot to have an amazing hard to top proposal," Peter said shaking his head, "Tell them congratulations for me?"

"I will," Jackie promised.

"Are you doing anything for New Years?" Peter questioned, keeping the conversation going.

"I'm going to a party at _the Bugle_ on New Years eve which should be fun," Jackie revealed and Peter perked up a little bit in interest. Normally Peter was the first thing Jackie wanted to tell everything too, so it was strange telling him such old news now. "Betty's going and I'm wearing this really fancy dress and heels I can barely walk in," she described the scene before asking, "What about you?"

"I don't know yet," Peter reported shamelessly.

"Normally I don't really do anything but I figured I might as well go since I was invited…" Jackie informed Peter. There was a long silence and Jackie didn't know what to say or where the conversation left them. There was a weird tension that hadn't been there before, and it didn't feel totally one sided. The silence was heavy and the space between them felt enormous even though they were only a couple of feet apart.

"I guess I should probably…" Jackie said gesturing back inside.

"Of course," Peter obliged, "Aunt May is probably waiting for me anyways. Christmas is her favorite holiday." Taking a step backwards and looking a little disappointed, Peter managed one last smile before saying, "Merry Christmas Jackie,"

"Merry Christmas," Jackie said in a soft voice.

Peter turned slowly, as if he was waiting for Jackie to stop him. But she didn't. She couldn't. She watched him run back across the street and back inside, unable to move. Finally when he had disappeared inside, Jackie picked up the present Peter had given her and headed back inside.

Jackie immediately headed upstairs, not checking in with Hazel or Maggie and instead went right to her room with the package in hand.

Setting the present on her bed, she paced around the room for a second, emotionally preparing herself for whatever was in the box. When she felt ready, she tore open the box and involuntarily let out a an emotional sigh.

The first thing she saw was a box set of DVD's, one for _Friends _and another for _Full House_, from their argument about which tv show was better and she laughed a little bit thinking about the memory.

Then she noticed a slice of Aunt May's apple pie, a nod to the first day that Peter and Jackie had met and he'd brought pie over to the house. She remembered how he had caught the pie after she'd dropped it with such ease and how impressed she had been. Peter had been so nervous but Jackie had seen something in Peter even then.

Digging through the box, Jackie found a tube of aloe vera, from when Peter had showed up to school with a black eye and Jackie had told him that aloe vera was good for bruises and burns. It had been one of their first real conversations when they'd walked to school together for the first time.

The last thing that the box contained was a mug with the periodic table of elements on it, for Jackie's chemistry class, and a gift certificate for Lucy's Coffee, which remained Jackie's favorite coffee place even though it had been too cold for Jackie to walk as of late.

A tear slipped Jackie's cheek as she found a small note at the bottom in Peter's handwriting reading simply: _I'm sorry._

Looking at everything that Peter had given her, she couldn't help but be amazed at everything that the two had squeezed into the few months that they had known each other. She had never imagined that coming into a new school a few months into her senior year, that she would have been able to make such a genuine friend, but she had and now she didn't know what to do.

Peter still hadn't told her anything and she knew she couldn't trust him completely until he did. But it was so evident that he cared due to how much attention he'd paid with her present and that mattered a lot to Jackie. She felt so conflicted. Their conversation had left her more confused about what to do with Peter then ever before.

In a weird way, Jackie wished she could be mad at Peter. She wished she could hate him. It would be easier if she hated him for lying to her, then she could ignore him and move on, but she couldn't muster it up in herself. Instead it was taking everything in her not to go over and tell him she forgave him.

Jackie and Peter's relationship was in a weird limbo state. Jackie was unsure if they could continue on being friends like they were before, but she also knew she couldn't loose Peter. She didn't want to let him go.

* * *

**A/N: **YAY! New update! This update really makes me wish it was Christmas time right now even though I love summer too.

I just started at a new job so hopefully it won't effect updating to much because for those of you who have been reading this story for a while now know, the past few weeks have been the most I have consistently updated, maybe ever? Hahaha! I already have quite a bit of the next chapter written but I'm feeling like its going to be a really long exciting chapter so GET READY ;)

What did you think of Hazel and Phil? They were really fun to write! AND THE FRICKIN PROPOSAL FINALLY HAPPENED! Elliot is goals tbh. And confusing things happening between Jackie and Peter but they are finally talking again at least!

Also omg I just realized how stupid it is that I made Jackie's last name Carter considering the fact that there is already Peggy **CARTER** and Sharon **CARTER**. I feel so stupid! If you ever thought that they might be related, in my brain they never were, although you would have been a lot smarter than I am, and that could have made for a really interesting story! Should I change it? UGH! Also I'm an idiot that made Midtown just blocks away from where Peter and Jackie live in Queens, when obviously Midtown should be in Manhattan? Geez I'm dense sometimes. I guess just keep in mind that I started this two years ago. Maybe I'll go back and do a few edits. IDK.

Big shout outs to: **Just Watch Me Fly, nellie511, StoneHearted, Nightingale agent of the dark, The girl with no life, ZabuzasGirl, **and** Butterbeer8! **You are all sweet and I can't even express how thankful I feel to have people that take time out of their day to review my story and get as excited about it as I do!

Link for my inspiration tumblr for all things Jackie and Peter is on my account page if you are interested in asking me any questions there! Otherwise please review if you have the time and have a wonderful week!


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